Goodnight Kisses
by Relm Wanderer
Summary: When Gourry goes to bed after a tiring day of adventuring he doesn't expect to get any night time visitors. Especially not a visit from her.
1. Chapter 1

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part One, Butterfly

By Relm

The day had been a long one. As Gourry made his way to his room at the inn for the night he practically had to drag his feet. He was so tired. It was another one of those treasure seeking adventures that had them going from place to another. The areas that Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis travelled to and from where filled with many demons so it meant lots of tiring fights. But the time they reached that town with the inn Gourry was ready to crash.

The room was quaint with a nice welcoming decor, but Gourry didn't care. All he cared about the bed and how close he was to it. Shrugging out of his armour was difficult but he did and climbed into the bed sleeping right away.

Though Gourry was seemingly dead to the world that wasn't so. Being a trained swordsmen and traveling with Lina to boot, the possibility of getting attacked at night was high. So as he heard the sound of the door knob turning even though he didn't want to he woke up.

Even before Gourry fully woke he was reaching for his sword. It was possible it was just Lina coming to ask him a question or Amelia or Zelgadis. But one should be prepared for the worst.

The person behind the door slowly opened it letting the light spill from the hallway into the room. The only thing Gourry could make out from the silhouette was that the visitor was a woman.

Perhaps Gourry should have been more cautious but seeing that his visitor just made him too confused to act. He just stared at her blinking. He wasn't sure who the woman was, but she did seem tall with long smooth hair. That ruled out both Lina and Amelia. So who was this woman?

The woman was silent as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. It wasn't until she got closer to the bed that Gourry realized who it was.

Even in the dim moonlight invading from the uncovered windows it wasn't hard to figure out who was standing by Gourry's bed. The smile on her face was a playful one as she climbed on the bed and sat herself on Gourry. She sat straight up looking down at Gourry who was still laying on the bed flat on his back looking up at her.

Gourry was confused by this action as he stared into her emerald eyes. There he was flat on his back with Sylphiel sitting on top of his straddling him with her long legs.

"Sylph-" Gourry started to say as he tried to sit up.

But with a gentle shush and a finger lightly pressed to his lips Sylphiel coaxed him back onto his back. She didn't push hard. Just a feather light touch of her finger and Gourry lost all ability to resist. He just laid there looking up at her completely confused. Why was she there? What did she want? Gourry could have pondered a million thoughts and he stil wouldn't be prepared for what Sylphiel did next.

That smile of hers filled with amusement boarded as she leaned forward and down to Gourry's ace.

Gourry felt his heart beating in his throat as Sylphiel got close. Her lips were so soft and light that Gourry would have sworn it was butterflies flutter across his lips and not Sylphiel's lips kissing him. He couldn't move. The moment Sylphiel' lips touched his he became immobilized. His mind shrieked at him to do something anything but just laying still. But as much as he wanted to kiss her back he couldn't do anything. He was far too confused to react. His brain had trouble registering the fact that it was Sylphiel kissing him. Sylphiel was shy and not so forward. Why would she be kissing him?

Once Gourry's brain and body come to an agreement it was too late. Sylphiel broke the kiss and sat herself back up staring down at him.

"Why?" Gourry whispered. The one word was all that Gourry could manage to say. Though only one word it covered so many questions. Why are you here? Why did you come into my room? Why did you kiss me?

Sylphiel could have answered any one of those questions. Instead she posed one of her own. "Do you want me to leave?" Her voice was soft and sultry.

"No." Gourry found himself saying before he could even think about her question.

Sylphiel smiled at Gourry fondly as she got under the covers and snuggled up to him. She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

Gourry laid there petrified. He wasn't sure of what he should do. Hell he wasn't even sure how all this ended up happening let alone on what to do next.

As Gourry sifted through his thought cluttered mess of a mind it became apparent that Sylphiel had fallen asleep.

Realizing the shrine maiden was already asleep he came to a conclusion. He didn't want to wake her. In fact he didn't want to her to leave anyway. So Gourry wrapped his arms around her pulling her close before going back to sleep.

...

That unexpected kiss was still so fresh in Gourry's mind as he woke that morning. But as he opened his eyes and felt around on the bed he found that he was alone. Sylphiel was no longer in bed with him.

His eyes darted around the room for a sign of the shrine maiden. A forgotten piece of clothing or a note to let him know where she went. Nothing in the room told him where she went, nor was there anything present to prove she had been in the room at all.

Gourry got ready quickly and reached to open his door. To his surprise the door was locked... from the inside.

Thinking back Gourry couldn't remember if he locked the door the previous night. 'If I locked it how did Sylphiel get in? And if I didn't how did she lock it when she left?' He tried to remember if there was some spell that could be used to lock and unlock doors. But even probing the very far corners of his mind he couldn't remember if there was.

The thought occurred to him that maybe Sylphiel had never been there. That maybe her unexpected visit had just been a dream.

Gourry was quick to dismiss that thought. The touch of her lips, the feel of her in his arms... no it had been too real to be a dream. 'She must know a spell to lock doors. That has to be it. I couldn't have been a dream.'

Downstairs Gourry went to the restaurant to meet his friends whom had already started breakfast without him.

"It's about time you got up!" Lina mumbled with a mouth full of eggs and sausage.

Gourry frowned as he joined his friends at their table. Sitting at the table was Lina, Zelgadis and Amelia. Sylphiel was nowhere in sight. Obviously if she was staying at the inn too she surely would have joined the others for breakfast if she saw them. Gourry found himself searching the restaurant for the shrine maiden's face.

"Gourry is something wrong?" Zelgadis questioned Gourry after taking a sip of his coffee. "Are you looking for something?"

"I thought... I thought I saw Sylphiel last night. I thought she was staying at the inn too."

Zelgadis frowned. "I haven't seen Sylphiel since we were all in Tarforashia. If she's here then she hasn't made her presence known. And Lina's making too much of a spectacle for Sylphiel not to notice us."

"The last time I saw Miss Sylphiel she was leaving for New Siaraag." Amelia admitted. After going back to Sailune with Amelia and Prince Phil, Sylphiel announced that she was going back home. Being in Tarforashia reminded her too much of Siaraag and all the work that still needed to be done. Sylphiel did admit that it was probably foolish for thinking of rebuilding the city yet again, but it was her home after all.

"Yeah Sylphiel wouldn't have left Siaraag to end up in this backwater town. You're probably just confusing a dream you had last night with yesterday memories. Unless you were hallucinating then you must have just dreamt about her." Lina declared while she stuffed another heaping spoonful of food into her mouth.

"I guess..." Gourry mumbled to himself. A dream did make the most sense. But then the question becomes, why was he dreaming about Sylphiel in the first place?

_(Author's Notes: This was supposed to be a oneshot. It was me thinking about how Gourry would react if Sylphiel actually decided to be bold and take charge. But I didn't get a chance to work on it right away as I had to go to work and while at work my mind drifted to this story thinking of alternate ways to explain why Sylphiel would be so boldly out of character. So now it's become a multi-parter. Of course this is going to remain G/S, but there will be more couples in the future as well as other characters popping up. I don't want to make this fic too long and complicated, but knowing me it probably will.)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: As usual this and all my Gourry/Sylphiel related material is made for and posted on my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine first before anywhere else._

_Check out the shrine at: relm . bravepages . com (just remove the spaces)_

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Two, Missed

By Relm

Gourry was unusually quiet as he and the others checked out of the inn later that morning. He was still going over the events of the previous night in his head as he went to check his room for things he might have left behind. Though he had eventually accepted the idea of Sylphiel's night-time visit as a dream it still didn't seem right. It wasn't as though Gourry had never dreamt about the quiet shrine maiden before. He had many times. Sure some of those dreams were revolving around food but there were some that weren't.

It may be hard to believe but Gourry has had romantic dreams in the past. Before he went traveling with Lina he used to have lots of them. And those dreams were always centered around Sylphiel. In them Gourry was the dashing hero saving the pretty damsel in distress. She would reward him usually with the honour of holding her hand or kissing his cheek. Never in his dreams did Sylphiel ever sneak into his room, climb into his bed and kiss him on the lips. The idea of Sylphiel kissing him wasn't unappealing. In fact since that supposed dream it was all that he could think about. But Gourry's dreams were usually G and not so PG13 heading towards an R rating. So this didn't make sense.

Since traveling with Lina and deciding that he would be the dragon spooker's guardian thoughts of the shrine maiden had become fewer and far between. What was the point of thinking of a woman you could never be with? Not when you had duties to attend to. Plus in some strange way Gourry decided that he was supposed to be with Lina romantically anyway. Or as romantic as Lina would allow, which really wasn't much. It was a bit frustrating to the blond swordsman to be constantly shot down every time you tried to get closer to someone.

However having these renewed thoughts about Sylphiel made things confusing for Gourry. Because now that they were in his head he didn't want them out. He knew that he should be thinking about Lina, the woman he was supposed to be with. But when faced with thinking about a loud and obnoxious woman ignoring or belittling you or a sweet soft spoken raven haired beauty kissing you it wasn't hard to see where Gourry's mind wanted to go.

As Gourry locked his inn door and headed down the hall towards the stairs one of the other inn doors opened. Coming outside this door was a woman with long dark hair and green eyes. Had Gourry taken a moment longer or she been quicker to get out their paths would have crossed. But as this woman entered the hall Gourry was already heading down the stairs.

The woman let out a yawn as she walked down the hall. She had gotten to the inn late so as such she didn't get much sleep. The woman might have slept longer but she and her traveling companion had a tight schedule.

"Pokota?" She called out as she knocked on her traveling companion's door. "Are you awake? We should get going otherwise we don't have time to eat breakfast before we check-out."

That little piece of information got the stuffed animal doll out of his room in a flash. "Okay let's eat!" Pokota exclaimed almost bursting out of his room.

"Good morning Pokota." The woman greeted him with a stifled giggle.

Realizing his rudeness Pokota almost shrunk down in shame. "Oh right, sorry... Good morning Miss Sylphiel. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes and no. I was having some odd dreams. How about you?" Sylphiel didn't tell Pokota at one point she had to get up and walk around the inn because she couldn't sleep. Her mind was preoccupied with a certain blond swordsmen.

"I slept like a baby. But boy am I hungry!"

"Let's hope the kitchen can accommodate an appetite like yours." Sylphiel joked as the two headed down the stairs and to the left towards the dining area. Had they gone right they would have ended up at the check out/in desk where Lina and company were checking out at that very moment. Since they didn't go right Sylphiel and Pokota completely missed the dragon spooker and her posse.

The dining area wasn't too busy as most patrons had already eaten breakfast. The only tables being occupied were the ones by the windows.

Pokota and Sylphiel sat down at one of the tables by the wall. Had they sat at the window they would have seen Lina and company leave the inn. It didn't seem that Sylphiel and Pokota were ever going to cross paths with the red head sorceress.

"So are you excited about the convention?" Pokota asked Sylphiel after the pair had placed their orders. The waitress cursed several choice words under her breath as she walked away. After serving Lina's table right before Pokota and Sylphiel it wasn't surprising that the waitress was annoyed.

"Yes I am. I haven't been to the White Magic Convention since Siaraag got destroyed by Koppi Rezo."

"I haven't been since Tarforashia was gripped with drum disease." Pokota added his voice full of excitement.

The White Magic Convention was a special gathering that was completely about white magic and non magical healing. It was open for anyone to attend but special VIP invites were sent to each country/kingdom. It was usually one invite per area and the invites went to those who were most proficient or important in white magic or healing of the area. Being a shrine maiden Sylphiel was a natural choice for an invite but Pokota wasn't. But given that Tarforashia was heavier in black and shaman magic Pokota was probably chosen because he was a prince. Pokota's father health wasn't good enough to make the long trip.

"I'm sure it will be great fun and full of useful information. Especially since this will be the first convention I've been to since the barrier has gone down. I hear a former priestess is going to be attending. I'm really looking forward to meeting her. But I am surprised I got an invitation. Siaraag is barely begun to rebuild." Sylphiel admitted. "They didn't invite me the last time we started to rebuild so I'm not sure why they choose to this time."

"I know what you mean. A good part of the world doesn't even know Tarforashia is awake and yet I still got invited. Maybe they have confidence that our homes will not be destroyed again. Siaraag and Tarforashia were the centers of magic and home of the holy trees." Pokota rationalized.

"Flagoon used to be the largest holy tree. It's sad that it no longer stands." Sylphiel sighed sadly as she thought about that massive majestically tree.

"I wish I could have seen it. It had always been a dream of mine." Pokota agreed.

"Well it was a lot like your kingdom's holy tree Bailoon. Only Flagoon was of course a lot larger. But now Bailoon is the largest with that sapling outside Sailune being second."

"Did you plant that seed I gave you the last time we met?" Pokota wondered. As sort of a thank you for helping Tarforashia Pokota and his father gave Sylphiel one of the last remaining Flagoon seeds they possessed. Pokota's ancestors couldn't take Flagoon with them when they left to resettle so they took three seeds of the great tree with them. One was planted in their new home, the early begins of Tarforashia, the second was planted outside Sailune and now Sylphiel had the third one. Because she was planning on rebuilding Siaraag it was only fitting she have a piece of Flagoon to take with her.

Sylphiel nodded. "Yes and it is growing. Though nowhere near as fast as the one outside Sailune. It's going to be many years before it's anywhere the size Flagoon once was."

"Maybe Father will let me go to Siaraag when the convention is over. I would like to see where my people originated."

"Honestly Pokota it's not much to look at at the moment. But I would be happy to have you come home with me. I've enjoyed our travels so far. I must say I'm quite lucky I bumped into you. Otherwise I would have made the whole trip to the convention alone."

"That would have been a long way to go by yourself. Father didn't even want me to go alone but he didn't really have much of a choice. There's still so much to be done with Tarforashia to get it back to what it once was that not a single person can be spared."

"I'm still surprised he let you go anyway."

Pokota's face took on an impish grin. "Well he didn't so much as let as I didn't really give him a choice..."

Sylphiel frowned. "Pokota! You didn't! Does your father know you left? Because if he doesn't he could be really upset if he didn't know where you went. He might think you were kidnapped or something!"

"I'm not a little kid you know." Pokota huffed crossing his arms across his chest. "I went years traveling around by myself."

"Your father was sleeping during that time so as far as he's considered you're still his young teenage son. And it doesn't matter if you can handle yourself or not, he's your father. He's going to worry about you no matter what." Sylphiel chided waving her finger at him. She didn't let on but she was actually very envious of Pokota. What she wouldn't give to have a chance to see her father again.

"I know... He does know where I'm going and he made it very clear that he wasn't happy with me for it. But the benefits outweigh any dangers that can pop up. The White Magic Convention is the best source for any news or discoveries concerning healing. The last thing we need in Tarforashia is a repeat of the drum disease epidemic."

"Well hopefully we can get some useful information to bring home."

The waitress struggled as she carried Pokota and Sylphiel's massive order. Her arms were already sore from the last big order so the poor woman didn't have the strength to do these types of orders all day. 'And it's just the morning too... How the hell am I going to last?' She thought to herself miserably.

...

"So where the heck are we going to again?" Lina whined at Amelia. The bandit killer had wanted to go searching for more treasure but somehow she and the others ended up agreeing to going where Amelia wanted to go. To be fair Amelia rarely ever insisted they head to a certain location but this didn't make Lina happy. Lina didn't even remember how she got roped into going to this gathering the princess wanted to go to.

"We're heading towards the White Magic Convention. It's a must for anyone who practices white magic. I was given a special invitation to represent Sailune so I have to be there. Father is counting on me." Amelia beamed with great pride. Sailune always participated in the convention but this was the first time Amelia was chosen as the special guest. In conventions past Prince Philonel got the invites but he usually took Amelia with him. This would be the first time that Amelia would go to this convention as the sole representative from Sailune.

"Do you need to have an invitation to go to this convention?" Gourry wondered. Being a swordsmen and not a mage Gourry had never heard about this convention before.

"No. It's open to all who study white magic or practice medicine. Or if you are interested in the subjects." Zelgadis explained almost excitedly. "Any new discoveries in healing or healing medicine gets showcased there first."

"You're hoping you might find your cure there." Lina narrowed her eyes at the chimera.

"Are you surprised?"

Lina just rolled her eyes.

'Open to all white mages...' Gourry thought to himself as they traveled. 'I wonder if Sylphiel will be there...' Thinking about the shrine maiden put a strange smile on Gourry's face as well a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Notes: This is all my Gourry/Sylphiel material goes on my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine first before anywhere else:_

_relmw . com / gs _

_(just remove the spaces)_

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Three, Faraway

By Relm

Lina and company continued on with their travels heading towards the White Magic Convention. After leaving that town they had stayed at the foursome traveled down the only trail leading to where they were going. But as they walked the trail they found it wasn't really much of one.

"This isn't a proper trail!" Lina grumbled as she stomped her way through the woods. Yes they were traveling on something that could resemble a proper path or road except for maybe it hadn't been used in years. There were fallen trees, over grown branches, roots and large rocks littering the path. It was annoying Lina because the ground was so uneven. She was constantly having to step over and on things and kept accidently stubbing her toes. "No one's used this road in years!" She declared in anger.

"I don't know Lina..." Zelgadis mused while looking down at the ground below them. "These tracks look fresh. I'd say it looks like someone was riding a horse drawn carriage through here not too long ago."

"I don't care! This still isn't a proper road! You'd think the people in that town we were just in would take more pride in their roads! I mean how are people supposed to get to Bornish anyway?" Lina huffed in annoyance.

"Miss Lina the town were just in was Boran." Amelia corrected her.

"Whatever. At least we know why it's just a backwater town. They have no pride in their land I tell yeah!"

"They probably don't get much people coming through here unless they are on their way to something like the White Magic Convention." Zelgadis surmised. "Though I do wonder who would try and come through here with a horse drawn carriage. This is a really bad trail to use that sort of means of travel."

"Why's that?" Gourry wondered. To him is seemed like a good idea to have a carriage. You could take more things with you and you wouldn't get the sores on your bottom that riding a horse tended to give.

"Like the things that Lina keeps tripping over it would be hard on the wheels for a carriage if they kept bumping over them. The carriage could break or the horse's reigns could get loose." Zelgadis explained.

"Well that would explain that mess coming up." Amelia pointed to what they saw further down the trail ahead of them.

It was a carriage no doubt and it was on its side and appeared to be broken. There was no horse insight but rather a very irate woman with blond hair stomping about.

"That's funny that almost looks like Filia." Lina mused.

"STUPID PIECE OF JUNK!" The blond woman yelled while kicking the broken carriage. Though a dragon tail didn't emerge from under the woman's skirt it was easy to tell who it was from her voice.

"That is Miss Filia!" Amelia exclaimed in excitement. "MISS FILIA!" She yelled while waving.

The blond woman stopped glaring at the broken carriage to look over to who was calling her. Seeing who it was she waved back and headed towards them. "Miss Lina, Miss Amelia, Mister Gourry and Mister Zelgadis! How nice it is to see all of you again!" Filia said with a happy smile as she got closer to the group. It was a stark contrast to the anger she was just taking out on the seemingly broken carriage.

"Filia what are you doing in these parts?" Lina wondered.

"Oh well I've been invited to this convention that showcases everything that's going on in the white magic and healing front." Filia explained.

"So you're going to the White Magic Convention too!" Amelia squealed in delight.

"Yes I am. In fact I'm supposed to be the head speaker at the convention. Though being that I turned my back on the temple I don't know if I'm really the best choice for this sort of thing..." Filia mumbled that last bit. "But I told them I would go so that's why I'm heading there. Were all of you invited?"

Amelia shook her head. "No just I was. I'm going to represent Sailune. Miss Lina, Mister Zelgadis and Mister Gourry are coming with me."

"That's lovely! We could all go together!" Filia clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Except your carriage looks buster and your horse has raced off." Zelgadis observed. "Why exactly are you traveling like this? Being a golden dragon couldn't you just fly or even teleport there?"

"And your tail didn't pop out when you were mad at the carriage." Gourry pointed out.

This got mutual looks of disbelief from all of Gourry's traveling companions.

"What?" Gourry looked around confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No you actually made a good point, for once..." Lina muttered. She turned to face Filia noticing something different about the former priestess. "What's the deal with that piece of jewellery around your neck? It looks pretty but it also kinda looks like a collar."

Filia's face turned red with obvious anger and irritation. "It is a collar and it's the reason why I can't travel the way I'm used to." Filia grumbled while crossing her arms across her chest with a huff.

"So the collar is to blame...?" Amelia prompted her.

"No that piece of garbage is to blame!" Filia hissed with a voice full of bitter resentment.

"Now, now Filia that's not very nice to say." A disembodied voice chided.

Everyone looked around for the source of the voice unsure of where it was coming from. Even though they couldn't see where the voice was coming from it was easy to figure who it belonged to.

"Is it not nice because it's the truth?" Filia spat out in a daring voice.

"I don't know why you always try and wound me with your words so much. Especially when I'm such a loveable guy." Xellos exclaimed pretending to be hurt.

"Loveable? You're as loveable as a sack of bricks!" Filia yelled.

"One would love bricks if they were building a house." Xellos surmised.

"GRAAAHHHHH!" Filia screamed but her tail still refused to pop out from under her skirt.

"So... Filia's what's going on?" Lina interjected hoping to distract the blond golden dragon from the monster that was irritating her so.

"What's going on? What's going on? I'll tell you what's going on!" Filia yelled out. "Because of that _thing _I got stuck with a transformation collar stuck around my neck! And I can't get it off either!"

"What's a transformation collar?" Gourry wondered. He hadn't heard or seen such a thing before. To him it just looked like a pretty jewelled choker necklace.

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!" Filia screamed once more.

"A transformation collar is a training tool that helps creatures like golden dragons get used to being in a human type form." Zelgadis explained. "While wearing the collar it prevents you from changing back into your original form."

"Hmmm... why would Filia need that for? She's already good at being a human." Gourry mused while tapping his chin.

"The collar wasn't for me! It was for Val! And he wouldn't wear it. In fact it scared him so much that he wouldn't even let me get it near him. So Xellos got the _bright _idea to suggest I put one on to show him it's not bad. And then that piece of stinking garbage locked it on me!"

"I was just trying to help. I had no idea it was going to get stuck." Xellos explained with a small innocent voice.

"So you're stuck not able to transform back into your dragon form huh?" Lina mused with a frown.

"Yes and I can't even teleport either." Filia crumpled down to the floor with tears rapidly falling down her cheeks. "I can't get it off because it was locked without setting a special command word. So I've been stuck traveling by such a slow and tedious method!"

"Travelling by carriage without a horse would be slow." Gourry agreed.

"Grrr! I did have a horse! But it ran away!" Filia wailed.

"Why didn't you just ride the horse instead of having it pull a carriage?" Lina questioned Filia with a raised eyebrow.

"Because... I don't like riding horses!" Filia huffed.

"Is that because you're so heavy it would hurt the horse?" This question of course came from Gourry.

"WHAT?" Filia screamed. She would have clubbed Gourry over the head with her mace if it hadn't been for Lina, Zelgadis and Amelia interfering.

"Good point Gourry. I couldn't have said it better myself." Xellos patted Gourry on the back.

Filia's mace went flying and landed on Xellos' head.

"Ow..."

...

"This trail doesn't look much like a trail." Sylphiel mused as she and Pokota continued on their travels towards the convention.

"Probably doesn't get used much. If it weren't for the convention I doubt anyone would have travelled to Boran much less use this trail." Pokota surmised.

"Yeah the convention is usually held in a different place every year." Sylphiel agreed.

"So what sorts of things do you think we'll see?"

"I have no clue. Probably any new advances in white magic. But what I'm really keen on seeing is what new discoveries have been made in medicinal healing. There are so many strange plants out there that can possibly used to cure ailments. Who knows what new find has been made! Like a mushroom that can cure fowl pox or a tree sap that can reduce muscle inflammation." Sylphiel exclaimed her voice filled with bubbly excitement.

"You're really interested in that sort of stuff aren't you? Kinda strange for a shrine maiden. White magic is usually their main thing."

"It is but magic can't fix everything. I feel to be a proper healer you need have proficiency and understanding in all areas of healing. Medicine is as much of a part of that as magic is." Sylphiel stated very sagely.

"Yeah and you can't heal anyone with magic when it's your time of the month." Pokota added.

Sylphiel blushed in embarrassment. "Um, yes that's true..."

"Well regardless I'm looking forward to seeing the convention. It will be nice to be there representing Tarforashia. Everyone will know our kingdom is back and no longer slumbering. Maybe that will get people back to traveling to Tarforashia. Right now only people from Sailune have gone to see the kingdom. But that's usually just Amelia or her dad bringing supplies."

"You've been seeing a lot of Amelia these past few months haven't you?"

"Yeah... Amelia's pretty good at white magic isn't she? I'll bet she'll be at the convention."

Sylphiel pressed her lips together in thought. "You're probably right about that."

"And maybe Lina, Zelgadis and Gourry will be there too."

At the mention of Gourry's name Sylphiel's face went far off and dreamy. "That would be nice..."


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Notes: As usual any and all Gourry/Sylphiel material that I post goes on my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine first:_

_relmw. _

_com_

_/gs_

_(Just remove the spaces)_

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Four, Forbidden

By Relm

On their travels towards the White Magic Convention Pokota and Sylphiel chatted about all kinds of things. What sorts of things they studied as children, the differences between Old Siaraag and Tarforashia, how they first met Lina Inverse...

There were all kinds of stories they had to swap about their own adventures. The tales were both animated and interesting. Neither one had trouble keeping the conversation going as they found it very easy to talk to each other. Sylphiel had assumed this was because their ancestors originated from the same place. She was sure that on some level her and Pokota were relatives. For someone who had lost her home and most of her family it was nice to hang around with someone to whom she felt a connection to.

"So what do you think Amelia and Prince Philonel should call their holy tree?" Pokota posed the question to Sylphiel as they walked.

"Well the tree isn't exactly in Sailune you know." Sylphiel reminded him.

"Still it was planted outside of Sailune to protect the kingdom from being poisoned by the rotting Zanifar corpse." Pokota piped back.

"Hmmm..." Sylphiel frowned in thought. "Well it should be something ending in Oon like the other trees... Gaudoon perhaps?"

"Sounds good to me. Maybe we should suggest that to Amelia when we see her at the White Magic Convention."

Sylphiel couldn't help but grin at the Tarforashian prince's enthusiasm. "You seem pretty convinced that you're going to see her there."

"Well she has to be there! There's no way she'd miss something like this." Pokota huffed.

"Are you sure she wouldn't miss it or do you just really want to see her that you're hoping she'll be there?" Sylphiel couldn't help but tease.

Pokota's cheeks turned a bright red. "What's wrong with wanting to see a friend again?"

Sylphiel chuckled. "Nothing Pokota. Nothing at all."

"Hey what's that over there?" Pokota pointed to the wreckage up ahead of them on the path.

"That looks like a carriage! It looks like it crashed!"

"Do you think the driver is hurt?"

"Let's go find out!"

Pokota and Sylphiel rushed to the destroyed carriage ready to help whoever could be trapped inside. However it appeared to be empty.

"What do you think happened?" Pokota asked while checking the back part of the carriage for any belongings of the carriage rider.

"My guess is that the carriage broke going over a tree root and horse got loose and ran off. So the driver had to continue the rest of the way on foot."

"Not a good idea to ride a carriage in a place like this. The terrain is too rough."

"And that's probably why the carriage broke." Sylphiel surmised. "Anyway we should keep going. I'd like to make as much ground before we have to make camp."

...

Hours later and much further ahead on the trail Lina and company were making camp for the evening. The sun had just begun to set and air was starting to get cooler.

"So how are we going to set up watches tonight?" Zelgadis wondered. "There are now five of us so we could break up the watches into five shifts."

"Hey I'm here too!" Xellos piped up. "Don't I count?"

"NO!" Both Filia and Zelgadis yelled at the same time.

"Do we really need to keep watch in this area? It's remote so I doubt any bandits will be around to try and attack us in our sleep." Amelia protested.

"You're probably right but there still could be trolls or other creatures that might be roaming around these woods so we should still do the watches. Better to be safe than sorry." Lina decided.

"So back to my original question, how are we going to set up watches tonight?" Zelgadis reposed his question.

"If we give Gourry a watch it should be the last one. That way even if he falls asleep it will almost be morning anyway." Lina mused.

Gourry felt like he should be insulted by that comment but he knew it was true so he just shrugged.

"I'll take first watch." Zelgadis offered.

"I'll take second." Lina declared.

"I'll take third!" Both Amelia and Filia said at the same time. Afterwards they looked at each other and frowned.

"Filia you take the third Amelia you get the forth." Lina ordered.

"Why do I have to take the fourth?" Amelia whined.

"For the same reason why Gourry gets the last watch."

Amelia pouted and crossed her arms in a huff. "That's not very nice to say!"

"Is Gourry complaining?" Lina pointed out.

"No." Amelia mumbled.

"Okay then let's eat dinner so we can start the watches."

...

All throughout dinner Gourry had been preoccupied. Usually he loved eating especially when the meal was dinner but for whatever reason he just couldn't muster up his normal pace. Mind you he still ate almost as much as he would normally it was just at a much slower speed. The meal was good but in his mind Gourry couldn't help but compare it to dinners of meals past.

The meals he was mentally comparing it to? Why ones prepared by Sylphiel of course. Sylphiel did make the best food ever and Gourry was remembering just that. Since that strange dream of her kissing him Gourry couldn't get the shrine maiden out of his head. Anything he did he thought about Sylphiel while he was doing it. He wondered what she was doing, if she was happy or if she was thinking about him too. And even while he ate he was thinking about how much better the meal would be if it had been Sylphiel that had prepared it.

'I wonder if I'll see her at the convention...' Gourry thought to himself. He hoped so or otherwise this trip would be pointless to him. He was a swordsman not a sorcerer or a healer. Of course knowing basic medical care was handy for someone who didn't know magic it still didn't interest Gourry much.

As he laid down to sleep Gourry kinda wished had had offered to take first watch before Lina decided he'd get last. His mind was too busy with his thoughts to sleep right away. Still he forced his eyes shut and commanded his brain to quiet so he could sleep. His brain mostly complied but still he had images of Sylphiel floating around it. As he drifted off into sleep those images of Sylphiel followed him setting the tone of dreams to come.

...

Amelia yawned for the fifth time during her watch. She hated standing watch especially when it was one of the last ones. She was tired and didn't want to be woken up. Amelia had been having a wonderful dream about a magical flower that granted wishes. And in the dream Amelia used the flower to wish Zelgadis and Pokota back to their original bodies. Both men had been so thankful they showered her with gratitude and affections. Zelgadis wrote her a song and Pokota danced with her. It had been such a happy dream that she was very cross with Filia when the golden dragon woke her.

A sigh escaped Amelia's lips as she looked over Zelgadis' sleeping form. She hated that he was stuck in a body he didn't wish to be in. She wanted to help Zelgadis just as much as she wanted to help Pokota. Both men didn't deserve to be cursed as they were though in the greater scheme of things Pokota had it much worse than Zelgadis. Pokota wasn't one to complain much about it though Amelia could see it in his eyes every time she came to visit Tarforashia.

Shaking her head Amelia tried to push the dream out of her head and focus on other things. The Sailune princess found herself scanning the area for a particular monster priest floating about. Amelia knew that Xellos had been pestering Filia while she was on her watch but for whatever reason the monster had taken off when it came for Amelia to take her watch. Because she was so bored Amelia had actually wished for Xellos' company. She would have liked someone to talk to but alas she was the only awake person in the area that she knew. If Xellos was around he wasn't showing his face.

Amelia had thought about calling out to the monster priest but doing so would possibly wake the others which was something Amelia was loathe to do. So Amelia was left sitting in silence tending to the fire for her solitary sentence. Fire did have a way of putting people in a hypnotic trance but not so for Amelia that night.

With yet another sweep of the surroundings Amelia sighed again. Was there anything she could do to quell her boredom? Out of desperation a game came to mind. It wasn't a particularly good game to play by herself (or at all in general) but at least it was something to do.

The game was to watch and observe those that were sleeping and guessing what they were dreaming about. Yes it was very lame but there wasn't much that Amelia could at that moment that would be quiet enough not to wake the others.

Amelia started with Zelgadis (of course) but the chimera proved to be a difficult study. Much like his normal appearance the chimera seemed to lack emotion. He was still and his breathing was even. His face was relaxed though neutral. More likely Zelgadis wasn't dreaming or if he was it wasn't a terribly exciting dream.

Lina was next and it was clear as day what she was dreaming about. The monster slayers was smiling and drooling. She mumbled the occasional thing in her slumber and the words that Amelia could make out were 'yummy' and 'want more'. Lina was dreaming about food.

Filia was next on Amelia's game and she was just as easy to figure out as Lina. The golden dragon looked angry in her sleep with her fists clenched tightly. She would make the occasional swing with her arm indicating she was trying to punch someone in her dream. Afterwards a satisfied smile crept up her face. Filia was dreaming about hurting someone and that someone would have to be Xellos.

Gourry was the last one for Amelia to observe and right away she figured he was dreaming about food like Lina. There was a goofy smile plastered on his face and he was mumbling too. But the redness of his face made Amelia question her guess. Did the swordsman have a fever?

Right away Amelia was on healer mode and she had to check on her friend. Gently Amelia put her hand to Gourry's forehead to feel his temperature. She was very careful as to not wake him not that it mattered much; Gourry was a dead sleeper. Feeling Gourry's forehead just proved that he was a little warm but not feverish. Whatever he was dreaming about was what was getting him flushed.

"...Sylph...iel..." Gourry mumbled with a smile.

Amelia quickly recoiled and scampered back to where she had been sitting. Gourry wasn't dreaming about food he was dreaming about the shrine maiden! Right away Amelia was thinking about Lina. Gourry was dream cheating on Lina! Upon further reflection Amelia realized how bizarre of a notion that was.

'He's still dreaming about food... It's just food that Miss Sylphiel made him. He's dreaming about Miss Sylphiel cooking for him.' Amelia told herself. Yes that did seem more likely. Spying a look at her watch Amelia realized it was Gourry's turn for his watch. She got to go back to sleep!

Knowing from past experience Amelia didn't even bother to try and wake up Gourry in a normal fashion. Doing so would make too much noise and would surly wake the others. So Amelia opted for a glass of water... that she poured over his head.

"Huh?! WHAT?!" Gourry woke up with a start.

"It's your turn Mister Gourry!" Amelia said with quiet glee before hoping back over to her bed roll.

Gourry wiped his face off and sighed. He had had been having such a nice dream and didn't want to wake up. But he was awake now so there was no use crying over spilled milk. Even if he could fall asleep again it was doubtful he'd jump right back into his dream.

The night was still dark but the sky was brightening up slightly. The once pitch black sky was now a deep dark blue over head as Gourry laid back and looked up. Gourry couldn't help but compared the navy blue velvety sky to the blue sheen of Sylphiel's raven locks in the sunlight. Even the stars reminded him of Sylphiel as Sylphiel's hair also did seem to sparkle in the sunlight. He thought about running his fingers through her hair and wondered if it was as silky as it looked. But Gourry couldn't do that; he couldn't just openly touch Sylphiel's hair. Such an act was forbidden in Gourry's mind. They were only friends after all. He couldn't do something so tender and affection as run his fingers through her hair. Even though he had dreamed about kissing her the night before and touching her hair would be heavenly.

In a tree Xellos sat and watched Gourry watch the sky. It was a strange set of emotions that the monster priest sensed from the former swordsman of light. All of them were positive and not ones Xellos could properly eat though they were curious given the source. Longing, adoration and what was that... lust? Was the seemingly pure and noble Gourry Gaberieve lusting after a woman?

It didn't seem likely and even on further inspection Xellos couldn't really call it lust. It was desire though not fully sinful like a normal red blooded man. Though still curious.

Like a ghost in the night a woman with the very same raven locks Gourry longed to touch breezed into the camp. She was quiet as she was beautiful and Gourry couldn't even believe his eyes as she came closer to him. "Sylphiel?" He near whispered not even believing what he was seeing as he tried to sit up.

"Shhh..." Sylphiel placed a finger to his lips and pushed him back down onto the ground. She grabbed one of his hands and placed in her hair guiding it up and down her lengths.

Gourry enjoyed the sensation more then he thought he could. Sylphiel's hair was impossibly silky.

Sylphiel purred slightly from the feel of Gourry's fingers running through her head. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear, "What do you want most?"

Gourry's breathe was sucked right back into him in a pleasure tortured gasp. Sylphiel's breath tickled his ear in delightful ways that sent tingles down his spine. He couldn't answer her, his voice was gone. This was just like the night before. But this was real wasn't it? This couldn't be a dream. It didn't feel like a dream at all.

But it had to be a dream; there was no way Sylphiel would be doing something like this. It wasn't right but Gourry almost didn't care. Gourry wanted it to be real, he wanted Sylphiel be there touching him leaning in close enough for their lips to touch...

Up in the tree Xellos' eyes were wide. Was the shrine maiden really seducing the blond swordsman? He just couldn't believe his eyes but it was as clear as day. Sylphiel was there straddling Gourry as she just barely kissed his lips. What the hell was going on here?!


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Notes: As usual anything and all Gourry/Sylphiel material of mine is posted on my Gourry/Sylphiel shrine first:_

_relmw._

_com/_

_gs_

_(just remove the spaces)_

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Five, Dreamy

By Relm

Too stunned to move to unsure to react. It was like Xellos was stuck between a rock and hard place. His eyes told him one thing but his mind was screaming another. It was true that Sylphiel the shrine maiden from Siaraag was madly in love with Gourry the former swordsman of light. However Sylphiel was never so forward to do such a thing as attempt to seduce a man while others slept around them. It was too forward, much too forward. This wasn't right.

Sylphiel's seducing seemed to do the trick, Gourry was completely enthralled. All kinds of pleasure laced emotions poured out of Gourry assaulting Xellos' senses. Sexual ones even though Sylphiel was barely touching Gourry's lips. It was almost as though Gourry's emotions were intensified and brightened making the man practically glow with energy.

This was all too troubling for Xellos. The situation did have potential for the special kind of disaster that Xellos loved so much. All he needed to do was make a loud noise and wake everyone up. How would Lina and company react to the seemingly polite and mild mannered shrine maiden turned temptress? The sight was scandalous after all.

Yes that should have been Xellos' course of action. He should wake everyone up and expose Gourry and Sylphiel. There would be ample things to snack on and promise for many more meals for the days to come. But still...

Something didn't seem right here. And his thirst for curiosity was greater than his hunger for chaos. So Xellos sat and on his perch and waited while watching.

After just a few kisses Sylphiel rose from Gourry. The swordsman let out a pathetic whimper from the absence but it was short lived. The moment Sylphiel parted from him Gourry fell into a deep slumber.

"Sleep well my hero." Sylphiel whispered as she got up and walked away.

Xellos went to phase down to the ground so he could follow the shrine maiden but the moment he did so she was gone. He couldn't even sense her at all. Where had Sylphiel gone?

...

Hours later in a camp not too far away Pokota and Sylphiel slept soundly. The morning sun was rising in the sky and the rest of the forest was waking up around them.

With only the two of them making camp it didn't seem to make much sense to have them take turns keeping watch. Neither one would get enough sleep to continue on with their journey. Rather than sleep with potential danger lurking about Sylphiel took advantage of her white magic skills and made a barrier around the camp. It gave them both enough piece of mind to sleep easily. This way they could both be rested enough to get an early start.

Sylphiel smiled happily while she was still off in dreamland. She in her favourite kind of dream, one that involved her and Gourry. This time a winter wonderland dream that had Sylphiel and Gourry sitting by a roaring fireplace while drinking hot chocolate. Outside was cold and snowy but inside was warm and toasty as the pair snuggled up together amidst winter solstice decorations. It was a wonderfully peaceful dream that Sylphiel never wanted to wake up from.

Slumbering next to Sylphiel was Pokota who was equally enjoying his dream. In Pokota's dream Amelia had just found a way to cure him and turn him back into a human and the pair was celebrating. Pokota had forgotten how good it was to be human and not a stuffed animal.

Both Sylphiel and Pokota were so engrossed in their dreams that neither one woke up when at a camp not too far away people were screaming...

...

"GOURRY YOU IDIOT! YOU FELL ASLEEP!" Lina screamed while smacking said swordsman upside the head.

"Huh?" Gourry mumbled as he woke up. "What's going on? And why does my head hurt?"

"It hurts because you're STUPID!" Lina screamed once more. The red headed sorceress would have struck Gourry once more if it weren't for the other members of camp intervening.

"Lina you figured this was going to happen anyway so are you so angry for?" Zelgadis grumbled as he held onto one of Lina's arms.

"Just because I assumed it was going to happen doesn't mean that it doesn't piss me off! Gods Gourry you are so damned unreliable!" Lina exclaimed while thrashing about. Zelgadis was holding one of Lina's arms and Filia and Amelia were holding the other one. Despite this Lina broke free on the side that Filia and Amelia were holding and she accidently smacked Zelgadis in the face with her flailing arm. "OWWWW!"

"Oww..." Zelgadis groaned.

Filia and Amelia both shook their heads and went to heal their friend's wounds.

"What exactly did I do Lina?" Gourry asked once Lina and Zelgadis were healed. "'Cause I don't remember what I did wrong."

Lina just rolled her eyes and went to re-light the campfire.

"You fell asleep Mister Gourry while you were supposed to be on your watch." Amelia explained.

Gourry frowned as he tried to remember what happened the previous night. He remembered he had been having a nice dream about Sylphiel when a cup of water was dumped over his head. This how Amelia woke him up for his watch. He also remembered laying on his back looking up at the late night/early morning sky thinking about Sylphiel...

Sylphiel! At the thought of the raven haired sorceress Gourry's eyes went wide with shock. He remembered Sylphiel coming to see him and letting him put his hands through her hair. She kissed him again...

Gourry shook his head violently at that thought. No that didn't seem right. Sylphiel couldn't have been at the camp. Why would she do such a thing? It just didn't make sense! So how could he explained what happened?

The last time he had thought he had such an encounter with Sylphiel the others had told him it had all been a dream. Just like before it had felt too real to be a dream but too strange of a situation to be reality.

A part of Gourry wanted to ask the others what they thought but how could he explain it? The last time he had left out the part about Sylphiel kissing him. What would he say? Sylphiel came into camp, said hello, and slapped a sleeping spell on him? That was almost as ridiculous as the notion of Sylphiel sneaking off to secretly kiss him.

The only logical conclusion Gourry could come to was that when he laid back to look at the sky he must have dozed off by mistake. And while asleep he dreamt about kissing Sylphiel again. But if that was the case and he had been practically asleep the whole time then why was he feeling so tired? He so exhausted that he didn't feel like he slept a wink.

"I'm sorry Lina. I don't remember doing it but I must have fallen asleep." Gourry admitted sheepishly.

Lina was going to start into another yelling rant when she finally took a good hard look at Gourry. The normally energetic and enthusiastic swordsman looked like he hadn't slept for a week. There were heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes which were a stark contrast to Gourry's pale looking face. Even the swordsman's breathing looked labour like as though he had been running three day marathon. "Gourry you look like crap!"

Filia, Amelia and Zelgadis snapped their heads in Gourry's direction to see what their redheaded leader meant. One look and it was obvious, something wasn't right with Gourry.

"Mister Gourry are you feeling ill?" Filia went to feel his forehead. It was clammy but not feverish.

"No... I think I'm fine. Just tired I guess." Gourry shrugged not knowing what else to say.

"Maybe Mister Gourry is coming down with something." Amelia suggested.

"That could be why Gourry fell asleep so quickly. If he's fighting off a bug he could be more likely to get tired out quickly." Zelgadis concluded.

Lina frowned. This didn't sit well with her. It wasn't like she was feeling guilty over snapping at Gourry earlier. She just didn't like the idea of their main swordsman coming down with a cold. It they ran into a problem in a fight where magic wouldn't be effective they would really need Gourry as Zelgadis was their only other armed fighter. "Can either of you whip something up to help the jellyfish feel better?" Lina asked Filia and Amelia.

Both the princess and the priestess shook their heads.

"I'm sorry Miss Lina but if I try to cast any white magic spells they will likely make Mister Gourry weaker and the virus stronger." Amelia admitted.

"Same with my magic too I'm afraid. Healing wounds is not a problem but dealing with sickness is." Filia added.

"Too bad Sylphiel's not here..." Lina mumbled. "She'd have some medicinal card up her sleeve to help him."

Gourry had a weak smile on his face as he thought about the shrine maiden. 'Too bad it was a dream and she really isn't here... I wish I could see her...'

Up in his tree looking down at the camp Xellos couldn't help but think about the irony of Lina's words. Sylphiel had been there not but a few hours ago. Though Gourry had been very much awake when the shrine maiden had visited him Gourry had left out that part entirely. Maybe the blond swordsman didn't believe it was real?

Xellos mulled over that thought for a few moments while the others made breakfast. More likely Gourry assumed it had been a dream. But if it had been a dream then Xellos wouldn't have seen it as well. Sylphiel or not, something had paid a visit to the camp. Very curious...

...

The first thing that Sylphiel did when she woke up was restart the fire so she could make breakfast. Pokota still continued to slumber but he wasn't likely to stay that way. The Tarforashian prince was much like the great Lina Inverse in the sense that his stomach was his ruling force in life. As soon as he smelled the breakfast cooking he would be sure to wake.

Sylphiel hummed to herself and threw some of the ingredients into the pan. Breakfast wasn't going to be as good as she would normally make as she didn't have a huge selection of things packed before she left New Siaraag. She and Pokota had picked up a few things here and there but it still wasn't enough to make their meals too fancy.

Despite getting lots of sleep for some strange reason Sylphiel still felt tired. She didn't know why she was feeling so low on energy but she chalked it up to having to camp outside. Unlike Lina and the others Sylphiel didn't go off adventuring too much so wasn't used to having to rough it in the outdoors. It didn't occur to Sylphiel that perhaps her tiredness could be because of something else she just continued on cooking.

"Hmm... what smells so good?" Pokota mumbled as he stirred. He let out a huge yawn and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Breakfast." Sylphiel said happily. "Good morning Pokota."

"Good morning Miss Sylphiel."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

Pokota nodded while inspecting the food simmering away in the pan. It looked delicious. "I'm used to camping out so I slept fine! But I guess you didn't sleep too well did you huh?"

Sylphiel frowned in confusion as she looked at Pokota. "I'm sorry but whatever do you mean by that?"

"Well you woke up in the middle of night and left the camp. You were gone for quite a bit. I was going to go look for you but then you came back and went back to sleep. Was your stomach bothering you?"

Sylphiel shook her head. "No. My stomach was fine. But I didn't wake up in the middle of the night." She insisted.

"Yes Miss Sylphiel you did. I saw you get up and go."

"But I didn't wake up. I would have remembered that. Maybe you dreamt it." Sylphiel suggested.

"No I'm sure of it Miss Sylphiel you left the camp. But if you didn't wake up then maybe you were sleepwalking?"

Sylphiel mulled over that thought as she plated hers and Pokota's food. "I do feel really tired like I almost didn't sleep at all... Maybe I was sleepwalking... But I haven't done that since I was a little girl..."

"Sometimes sleeping in unfamiliar areas or uncomfortable bedding can make people sleepwalk. Probably sleeping in a bedroll on the ground is to blame for that. I think we should try hard to make sure we get to a town before it gets dark tonight. That way you'd be sleeping in a bed and not the floor. I'm sure that will help."

Sylphiel nodded with a grim expression. She didn't like the idea that she might be sleepwalking again. It had been so hard as a child to deal with that it had made her father frightened every time Sylphiel went to bed. Sylphiel had been so happy when she had outgrown that phase in her life. 'I sure last night was just a onetime thing. I would hate if I was doing it regularly again. Who knows what sort of things I could end up doing when I'm asleep?'


	6. Chapter 6

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Six, Mysterious

By Relm

The whole day since waking in camp that morning Lina had been watching Gourry like a hawk. If Gourry was coming down with something Lina for sure wanted to know what it was and how badly it was effecting him. Lina did care for Gourry though not quite in the fashion that everything thought she did. Love was too strong of a word and even if it was love it wouldn't be something Lina would ever let herself feel. Gourry was her friend, her guardian. If anything the big dumb lug was the older brother she never had. Yes he irritated her but he still meant a lot to her.

Watching Gourry however didn't magically give Lina the answers she sought. Gourry did look bad but if anything the blond swordsman just looked very tired. It was almost as though Gourry was sleeping but not getting any rest while he was doing it. In the back of Lina's head she could remember hearing about a sleeping sickness or two that could make one extremely exhausted no matter how much sleep a person got. Lina couldn't remember much else except that she didn't think there were any cures or treatments for those ailments just time, lots of time.

It was times like this that Lina almost wished it was just the flu or a cold. Sure Gourry would be sick for a couple days to a couple weeks but better that than a couple months. One thing was for sure Gourry wouldn't be taking any watches any time soon. Which is one of the reasons why Lina and company were pressing forward to try and get to the next town before sundown. Because then at least Gourry could sleep in a nice comfortable bed. Perhaps that would make him feel more rested.

"Miss Lina who's Sylphiel?" Filia asked after they started walking again after eating lunch.

"Huh?" Lina looked at Filia blankly.

"Earlier this morning you had said you wished Sylphiel was here. I was just wondering who Sylphiel is."

"You don't know who Sylphiel is...?" Lina's frown increased. Traveling with so many people over the years Lina sometimes forgot who she traveled with at what time. For some strange reason she thought Filia had met Sylphiel before.

"No I've never met her... or um... him? Is Sylphiel a woman?"

Lina nodded. "Yes Sylphiel's a woman. She's a shrine maiden from Siaraag."

"Siaraag? The former magical capital? But wasn't it destroyed ages ago?"

"It was. Then it was rebuilt, destroyed, then built again, destroyed yadda yadda... Anyhoo Siaraag is back up again mostly because of Sylphiel's efforts. Though not quite the Siaraag it was before but it's on its way."

"As a shrine maiden Miss Sylphiel would be proficient in white magic like Amelia right?"

"Yeah but Sylphiel has been studying up on medicinal healing too so she's an all rounded healer." Lina explained.

"Yeah Sylphiel's the greatest!" Gourry piped up with a goofy smile gracing his lips. "She's sweet, kind, smart and a good cook too!"

Filia looked at Lina with suspicion.

"Gourry and Sylphiel knew each other when they were younger before I met him." Lina explained.

"Yeah I met her in Siaraag. I stole one of her pies and I ate it! It was the best pie I've ever had. Sylphiel makes the best everything! But I felt guilty afterwards 'cause I stole it and all. Sylphiel should have been real mad but she wasn't. 'Cause that's just Sylphiel for you. She's not only kind hearted but incredibly forgiving and understanding. She's the best." Despite being so tired Gourry smiled the brightest happiest smile a man could smile. "Oh and she's real pretty too."

Even though Filia got her explanation she still looked at Lina with curiosity.

Lina could see the look on Filia's face in the corner of her eye but she chose to ignore it. She and Gourry weren't anything so why the hell did she have to defend 'their relationship'? If Gourry wanted to go and talk up how great Sylphiel was Lina wasn't going to stop him. No Lina just marched ahead at a faster pace leading the pack.

Amelia sped up to catch up to Lina so she could ask their redheaded leader some questions about the convention they were heading too. Gourry followed not too far behind and Zelgadis lagged at the back of the pack bringing up the rear looking ready for any potential surprise attack. With Gourry possibly getting sick Zelgadis knew he had to be on guard and ready for anything.

Filia annoyed she wasn't getting the answers she wanted from Lina decided that Zelgadis would be the best person to ask. So she too lagged behind so she was walking in pace with the cursed chimera. They were close enough to the group to see them but they were out of earshot. "Mister Zelgadis...? Can I ask you some questions?" Though they weren't close enough to the others to be heard Filia still spoke in a hushed tone.

Zelgadis shot Filia a suspicious sideways glance. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Because I don't want the others to hear!" Filia hissed in annoyance.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes. Clearly Filia wanted to engage in some gossiping from her mannerisms and tone. He'd seen it many a times from Amelia when he visited Sailune. Even though Amelia was supposed to be virtuous and righteous princess Amelia did have her vices and gossiping was one of them. "What is it?" He groaned. Even though he didn't like to do it he knew he had to appease Filia otherwise she'd pester him till he gave in. This had happened many times with Amelia.

"Miss Sylphiel and Mister Gourry... could say that they are... friends...?"

Now Zelgadis was out right cringing. What a painful topic that was. Between Gourry's oblivious nature and Lina's flippant attitude towards relationships it always got real murky when you added Sylphiel into the mix. "Why are you asking me that for?!"

"Please Mister Zelgadis! Are they friends?"

Zelgadis groaned. "Yes I'd call them friends."

"And there's no more-than-friends feelings towards them?"

More cringing from Zelgadis. "Sylphiel's... kinda got a crush on Gourry."

Filia's eyes went wide at this omission. "Really? She does? And Miss Lina knows of this?"

"Everybody knows of it. Sylphiel's pretty obvious. Gourry is her favourite person in the world and she tends to fuss over him. Though it used to be way worse but she's backed off since she decided that Gourry and Lina are meant to be together. So Sylphiel has been treating Gourry more like a friend than someone she adores. Not that Gourry notices anything different. Gourry never realized Sylphiel's feelings. To him she's just a good friend of his." Zelgadis said with a sad sigh. He did feel bad for Sylphiel as he knew what it felt like be treated like a friend and nothing more. Being a chimera tended to bring out that in people. The ones he did like didn't like him and the ones that liked him he didn't like that way.

"So Mister Gourry doesn't have any extra feelings for Miss Sylphiel?" Filia prompted him looking very closely at Zelgadis' facial expressions.

"No. Why would you ask that?"

"Because just a few moments ago I was asking Miss Lina about Miss Sylphiel and Mister Gourry just lit up talking about how great he thinks Miss Sylphiel is. For just a friend Mister Gourry really keeps Miss Sylphiel on a high pedestal."

Zelgadis frowned again. Could it be that he and everyone else had been wrong this whole time? Could Gourry really have had feelings for Sylphiel this whole time? Or was it something new? Thinking it over Zelgadis had to shake his head. Filia was just over exaggerating. "They're just friends Filia."

"Okay if you say so."

...

Just a few stone's throw behind Lina and company Sylphiel and Pokota were traveling the same trail oblivious to who was up head of them.

"Looks like whoever had the carriage accident is walking the rest of the way." Pokota commented after a spill of silence.

"How can you know that?" Sylphiel wondered with a raised eyebrow.

"Before we hit the carriage wreck there was four sets of footprints on the trail, now there are five." Pokota pointed to the tracks ahead of them.

"Well perhaps the foursome found that person and helped them."

"Yeah she's probably traveling with them." Pokota agreed.

Sylphiel's eyebrow rose once more. "And why do you figure it was a woman that crashed her carriage? Is that a comment on woman driving?"

Pokota was quick to shake his head. "Oh no! No I meant nothing like that! Two of the set of tracks are small and narrow and other two are big and wide. So the foursome group is probably two guys and two girls. But after the carriage there are now three sets of woman's tracks. Meaning the new addition is a woman..."

"...and the one who crashed the carriage." Sylphiel finished off.

"Of course there does seem to be a sixth set that has been popping up here and there. That person must be flying or teleporting because the tracks show up very randomly."

Right away Xellos came to mind at Pokota's musings. Xellos did often spend most of his time flying, floating and teleporting rather than walk with the rest of the group. And if it were Xellos pestering a group of four or five then that would suggest the group of people way ahead of them on the trail was Lina's group...

The very second the image of Gourry popped into Sylphiel's head she had to dash it away. She was trying to be strong after all and not fawn so much over Gourry. Gourry was in love with Lina and not her and Sylphiel had to remember that. Besides just because it was a group of three girls and two guys didn't mean it was Lina's group.

Perched in a nearby tree Xellos watched the Tarforashian prince and the Siaraag shrine maiden as they walked. At first Xellos hadn't believed his eyes when he had seen Sylphiel the previous night 'seducing' Gourry to sleep. Why would she do it? And where had she come from? Xellos had been so sure it hadn't been Sylphiel mostly because it wasn't something the shrine maiden would do but also because Sylphiel was in Siaraag and nowhere near where Lina and the others were. Imagine Xellos' surprise when he found Sylphiel walking with Pokota about half hour to an hour's walk behind Lina's group.

So with the where answered that just left the why? Well the why wasn't really an unanswered question, Sylphiel was in love with Gourry. Any fool could see it even those who couldn't read emotions like monsters. But why would Sylphiel be... seductive? It wasn't in her character. Sylphiel was far too modest and pure. A chaste kiss the cheek possibly would even be too far for the shrine maiden.

Does that mean the woman who kissed Gourry the previous night wasn't the shy shrine maiden after all? No, that didn't seem right either. She looked too much like Sylphiel and Xellos sensed what he should have sensed if it was the shrine maiden.

So why did she do it? This was a mystery Xellos was just dying to figure out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Seven, Healing

By Relm

To get to the white magic convention it would take another couple more days worth of travel. And between where the two groups were and where they wanted to go there was only one more town they could stop off in. However this town was more like a city as it was a little more urbanized and closer to where the convention was taking place. Given the time frame they had it didn't make sense to push forward to get to the city before dark rather than just camp out. The likelihood of getting to the city before it was a normal time to turn in was very slim. But both groups had their own set of challenges to deal with that pressed them on further.

Sylphiel and Pokota were trying to get to the next town because of Sylphiel's recent resurgence of sleepwalking. There were many factors to consider when determining the cause of the sleeping condition and Pokota and Sylphiel were trying to eliminate one. If they got Sylphiel to a nice proper bed then perhaps she wouldn't go on a night walk. If she still was sleepwalking however then there was something else that was causing the problem.

During their walk Pokota and Sylphiel did talk about other issues that could be causing Sylphiel's sleepwalking. One thing that did pop up was perhaps Sylphiel was anxious about being away from New Siaraag. Having her home destroyed and rebuilt so many times made Sylphiel leery about leaving for fear something bad might happen while she was gone.

Besides thinking about the cause of the sleepwalking another topic relating to it was discussed. That topic? What was Sylphiel doing while she was sleepwalking? Sylphiel told Pokota about the many times Sylphiel's father had found Sylphiel sleepwalking when she was a child. Most of things she ended up doing where very mundane simple things. Like for instances Sylphiel often found herself wandering into the kitchen and preparing foods. However given her sleepy state what Sylphiel tried to make just didn't work. Either she didn't have the ingredients or utensils or she flat out was in the wrong area. What had worried Sylphiel's father was that Sylphiel could have accidently started a fire while trying to cook something.

But what would Sylphiel be trying to do in the woods? Was she trying to bake a pie with pinecones and tree branches? Or make cupcakes out of rocks and leaves? Given that there was no appliances in the woods the only way she could start a fire would be to use magic. So the risk to others wasn't all that high. What was concerning was that Sylphiel could accidently hurt herself by tripping or falling down off a cliff or into a ravine.

With those thoughts in mind Pokota and Sylphiel were very determined to get to the next city as quick as possible. But they were much further behind than the group ahead of them and wasn't as likely to get to the city at a decent hour.

Even though they were further ahead and closer to the next city things weren't all that rosy with Lina and company.

Despite forcing him to eat more food, drink more water and take more breaks Gourry just didn't seem to be getting any better. True he wasn't getting worse but the lack of improvement was concerning. At this point they were doing all they could be doing except for just stopping all together and letting Gourry rest for a couple days. Yes they did have some wiggle room as they were sure to get to the convention at least a day before it was set to start but they didn't have the extra time to let Gourry sleep and rest for days. And furthermore resting would be easier if Gourry had a bed to sleep in and not a bedroll on hard ground.

One option that was being tossed around was that maybe Gourry should stay in the next town while the rest of them continued on to the convention. And then Gourry could get the rest he needed and the rest of them could just pick him up on the way back.

This seemed like a perfect solution if not for two problems. One of those was that if Gourry stayed behind he would be doing so alone. If he happened to get worse staying in his inn room no one would be aware of it. At the very least if he stayed with the others then they could at least take care of him if things did take a turn for the worse.

The second problem was Gourry himself. Despite looking like crap Gourry kept insisting he was fine. All he was was tired and that's all. He had no interest in staying all alone in an inn room sleeping while the others went on without him. And Gourry was being quite firm on the subject too. He was going and that was final.

The others assumed he was just being stubborn but there was actually more to it than that. Since that strange 'dream' of Sylphiel kissing him he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. And the more he thought about it the more likely it seemed that Sylphiel would be also going to the convention too. In reality Gourry had no way of knowing it to be but he was sure of it just the same. He wanted to see Sylphiel again, badly.

So onwards both groups pressed on with the goal of getting to a nice cozy bed.

Xellos being the monster he was took this traveling time to muse over recent events and observe both parties. Pokota and Sylphiel had no idea Xellos was around. While Lina and company were aware that Xellos was lurking though they made no effort to try and talk to him or call him out. They treated Xellos like he wasn't even there. The best way to make something go away was to ignore it right? So ignore away they did. This suited Xellos just fine as he rather be sneaky and stealthy.

Listening to the problems facing Lina's group were interesting though it wasn't enough to completely capture Xellos' attention. This was partly because he didn't think Gourry was sick at all. In his mind the reason why the former swordsman of light was so drained wasn't because of a sickness but his nightly visitor.

Hearing Pokota and Sylphiel talk about Sylphiel's sleepwalking problem explained some of Xellos' questions. If the former shrine maiden was sleepwalking then that could be why she came into the camp to seduce Gourry. She wouldn't be in her right mind doing something that she would regret because she wouldn't even know that she's doing it. And it also explained why Gourry was so tired. Sylphiel might have been using a strange spell in her sleep that zapped Gourry of his energy.

Yes it wrapped up the mystery quite nicely but still it left Xellos thirsty for more. Things still seemed strange and had Xellos wondering. Like for instances what could be this spell that Sylphiel was using that was draining Gourry? Xellos had no idea what it could be. And another thing why was Gourry keep this all a secret? Did he really think he dreamed it all up? Or was he enjoying keeping this little rendezvous a secret? It made Xellos wonder if this was the first time Sylphiel had paid Gourry a nightly visit.

This left Xellos wanting to observe some more. Perhaps he would treated to another little show that night.

...

Lunch time came and went and both groups packed up and continued to head towards the next town. Even though the trail they were traveling was originally very rough it was getting more and more cleared and even as they walked on. A good sign they were getting closer to their destination.

"Gourry I still don't understand why you want to go to the convention so badly for." Lina said with a huff as they travelled. "It's not like you know any magic or anything."

"Maybe he's just afraid of being left behind." Amelia suggested. "No one really wants to be alone when they aren't feeling well."

"I'm not sick I feel fine!" Gourry insisted. "I'm just a little tired is all."

"Though if you think about it bringing Gourry to a white magic convention is actually a smart idea." Zelgadis mused while tapping his chin in thought.

"How do you figure that?"

"I'm sure there's going to be more people there than just white magic practitioners. There will probably be medicinal healers there too. If there's a special treatment for Gourry's ailment I'm sure we'd find it there."

"Mister Zelgadis is right!" Filia agreed. "Though it would be better if Mister Gourry didn't have to walk the entire way to the next town. If only I could teleport..."

"How about we fly him there using a spell?" Amelia suggested.

"Nah it's a waste of energy." Lina waved off that idea. "He's too heavy to carry around."

"But we'd get to the town faster!" Amelia protested.

"And be dead tired when we get there making getting an early start the next day that much harder." Lina rationalized.

"But Mister Gourry is sick! Shouldn't we do anything we can to help him?!"

"I told you I'm fine!" Gourry insisted once again. "Would you guys all stop putting up such a fuss?!"

"See? He's fine let's just keep walking and stop talking about it." Lina declared.

...

"Maybe it would be a good thing to fly to the next town." Pokota mused looking up at the sky. It was still midday but it would start getting darker in a couple hours.

Sylphiel looked up and frowned. "It's still pretty light out but I see your point. It might take us a while to get to the next town on foot."

"Do you know the name of the town?"

Sylphiel pulled out her map from her cloak and gave it a once over. "Well it looks like the town is called Polnak though as I've already discovered this map wasn't drawn to scale. So it could be close or very far from where we are. Also I don't know how big the place is."

"Meaning we could accidently miss it by flying if it's small or hidden amongst trees." Pokota added.

Sylphiel nodded. "Probably just better we walk. And if we don't make it by the time it gets too dark we'll just camp out."

"But what about your sleepwalking?"

"We'll just deal with it."

"How?"

"Well one way I used to try to keep myself from wandering off was to tie my foot to something. We could try that."

"What if you need to get up in the middle of night and need to go to the bathroom?"

"Then I'll just untie myself before I go." Sylphiel explained.

"But if you can untie yourself what's stopping you from doing the same thing while you are sleeping?"

"Then you can tie me to a tree in such a way that I can't free myself."

"But what if you need to go the bathroom and you can't untie yourself?"

Sylphiel just shook her head. "Then I'll just wake you up to untie me. Really Pokota stop worrying so much. It will all be fine."

"I know but I'm still worried. It wouldn't be so bad if there were more of us traveling to the convention. Because then we could have people standing watch and they could keep an eye on you."

"It would be nice but you and I weren't even planning on going together remember? We just happened to bump into each other."

"Well maybe we'll bump into that group traveling ahead of us. Wouldn't it be nice if it was Lina and the others and they were all heading the same place too?"

Sylphiel let out a sigh. "It would be nice but that's a bit of wishful thinking I'm afraid Pokota."

Pokota shrugged. "Yeah I guess. Well then let's pick up the pace and maybe we'll get to that town before dark."


	8. Chapter 8

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Eight, Sleepy

By Relm

It was very late by the time Lina and company reached Polnak. It had been dark for hours and most of the shops had already closed for the day. There were only four things open when they strolled in: the inn (which was open all hours anyway), the local tavern, and two restaurants that catered to late night diners. Of course the inn itself also had a restaurant inside but the kitchen was pretty much closing at that time too.

In an effort to get to the town faster Lina and company had yet to stop to eat dinner. So by the time they got into town they were starving and ready to eat anything.

"Which restaurant are we going to?" Amelia wondered as she looked between their two eating choices.

"I don't care I want food! And I want it NOW!" Lina yelled with a hunger induced fevered insanity.

"We should really check into the inn first before going to get food." Zelgadis suggested not even stopping to think why that was a bad thing to say. Lina reminded him of why this was bad idea by picking him up and throwing him into the ground. "Oww..."

"Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia and Filia both cried out in horror.

"Oh he's fine I barely touched him!" Lina waved it off. "Now we go to food!"

"Which restaurant?" Gourry asked looking between the two places. One restaurant was a steak and rotisserie chicken place while the other looked to be a seafood and pasta restaurant.

"Meat!" Lina cheered as she marched off towards the steak and chicken restaurant.

Gourry followed while Filia and Amelia dragged Zelgadis off the ground.

...

Not even an hour later Pokota and Sylphiel made their way into Polnak very much tired and hungry.

"Thank the gods we finally got here!" Pokota exclaimed. "I thought we might have gone past the town walking around in the dark!"

"We really should have stopped and made camp earlier." Sylphiel said with a frown. "We could have gotten lost out there in the woods."

"But we didn't and we're here! So you'll get a nice warm comfortable bed to sleep in and I'll get to eat a restaurant out of all their food." Pokota said with a satisfied smirk.

"Which one?" Sylphiel pointed their choices. "There looks to be two restaurants open."

"I do love steak..." Pokota mumbled with drool dripping down the side of his mouth.

"So then we'll go to the steakhouse." Sylphiel decided.

"But I love seafood and pasta too..." Pokota mumbled again.

Sylphiel stifled a chuckle. Times like this Pokota reminded Sylphiel of Gourry. "Well Pokota we can't go to both so you'd better pick one."

Pokota looked back and forth between the two restaurants with obvious anxiousness. "I... I don't know! I want both of them! I can't decide!"

"So you'd be okay with either?" Sylphiel posed the question hoping for a yes answer. She would be fine with either restaurant but she was leaning a little bit more towards one than the other.

"Yes! Either one sounds good."

"Okay may I pick the restaurant then?"

"Sure. I can't decide anyway."

"Good because I've suddenly got a craving for seafood." Sylphiel said with a gleeful smile.

Pokota smiled back and the two of them walked over to the seafood and pasta place walking right by the steakhouse and chicken restaurant that Lina and company were making a spectacle in. Lina and Gourry were eating at paces that no one in the restaurant had ever seen and quite a crowd had gathered to watch. If Pokota and Sylphiel had right looked to their right they would have surely seen Lina and Gourry but as it was they didn't even look. Likewise in the steakhouse none of the group looked to the window to see Pokota and Sylphiel walk by. Once again they just missed each other.

Xellos sat on top of a building looking down at the sight. Just one decision another way or a stray look and Sylphiel and Pokota would have stumbled upon Lina's group. It amused him.

...

"Ahhhh... That was good..." Lina sighed while patting her bloated gut as she and her friends left the steakhouse.

"It should be good as you ate the place clean out of food." Amelia pointed to the close sign on the door they just walked out. "They had to close the restaurant because of you."

"Hey I wasn't the only one who ate the food!" Lina protested.

"You ate even more than Mister Gourry!" Amelia shot back.

"So? He still ate a lot." Lina grumbled.

"But Gourry doesn't look like he's five months pregnant." Zelgadis darkly joked still not realizing he was saying something stupid. Or at least at first but then he flinched when he realized what Lina was about to do.

Lina on the other hand was going to harm Zelgadis but she really did feel five months pregnant. "Oh forget it I'm too full and tired to do this..."

Both Amelia and Filia let out a sigh of relief. They didn't want to have to drag Zelgadis anywhere again as the chimera was very heavy.

Lina shot a fleeting glance behind her at the seafood and pasta restaurant as they made their way to the inn. "I wonder if that place would have been better... Seafood does sound good..."

"You can't still be hungry!" Zelgadis insisted. But even as he said this he noticed that Lina's 'baby tummy' had magically disappeared. 'How fast is her metabolism?'

Lina pondered the idea of going to eat more food but her sleepy eyes said otherwise. She was tired food would just have to wait till the next morning. And that food would be an extra large breakfast anyway. "Nah let's go get checked in. I'm sooo tired."

The inn was quiet at this late hour with only one worker manning the front desk. And even the worker himself was tiredly yawning as he fought to stay awake. Clearly he wasn't usually a night person. "Hello and welcome to the Palnak Inn." The worker said with another sleepy yawn.

"Hi there we'd like five rooms please." Amelia asked very politely.

"Five why five?" Lina mumbled in confusion. "We usually just get two."

"But Miss Lina there are five of us and Mister Gourry should really have his own room as he's not sleeping all that well as it is." Amelia reminded her.

"Okay so Zel and Gourry get separate rooms. Why do us girls have to each have our own room?"

"Miss Lina wouldn't you rather have your own room with a bed just for you?" Filia suggested hoping not to have to share a room with anyone.

"Not if it's going to cost us an arm and leg to get the extra room." Lina said with a huff. "We got four rooms the last time and look how much extra we had to pay! It's highway robbery I swear."

"But Miss Lina you just spent a small fortune at dinner! How can you do that and still be concerned about money?!" Amelia exclaimed in exasperation.

"Because money spent on food is money well spent. I don't want to dip into our eating funds just to get an extra room or two." Lina countered back.

"Just give us five rooms." Zelgadis said to the worker while ignoring Lina and Amelia.

The worker just shrugged and gave the chimera the keys. He watched the group argue as they walked up the stairs. "Funny group..." He looked back to his key wall and noticed he only had two more keys left. "Two more rooms and we've got a full house tonight."

...

Not even an hour later Pokota and Sylphiel walked of their restaurant of choice feeling very much stuffed and sated.

"Good choice Miss Sylphiel. That food was really good!" Pokota exclaimed.

"It should be. I saw you packing away extra rolls in your zippered stomach. What else did you hide away while I wasn't looking?" Sylphiel teased the Tarforashian prince.

"Nothing else I swear!" Pokota exclaimed honestly though he still looked very much guilty.

Sylphiel let out a chuckle. "Well okay then. You know it's a good thing we went to the seafood place."

"Why do you figure that?"

"The steakhouse is already closed." Sylphiel pointed to the now empty restaurant they were passing on their way to the inn.

"That's strange. I figured it would still be open, the other restaurant still is." Pokota motioned to the seafood restaurant behind them.

"Well we did get here pretty late as it is. Maybe the seafood place stays open the longest in Palnak." Sylphiel suggested. "Either way it doesn't matter since we're already well fed."

"That we are! Now it's off to bed with us."

Instead of being greeted with a welcome to the Palnak Inn Pokota and Sylphiel greeted with the sounds of snoring. The front desk worker was slumbering at his post looking very happy nestled off in dreamland.

"Oh dear he's asleep." Sylphiel said with a sigh. "We need a room but I really don't want to wake him. He looks like he's sleeping so peacefully."

"Yeah peacefully sleeping on the job." Pokota said with a snort. "That is not very good ethics. A front desk clerk is the most important job in an inn as it sets the tone for the coming guests checking in. They must be attentive, cheerful and organized."

"So sleeping on the job is an 'injustice'?" Sylphiel asked with a bit a chuckle.

"Well... yeah it is!" Pokota said with a huff.

Now this really got Sylphiel roaring with laughter.

"Miss Sylphiel what's so funny?"

"I'm sorry just reminded me of Amelia right there."

"Huh? Wha?" The front desk worker woke up with a start. "Oh I'm so sorry! I fell asleep! I'm just not used to these nightshifts yet." He admitted sheepishly.

"That's quite alright we weren't waiting long. Could we please have two rooms?"

The worker looked behind at the peg board and plucked the last two keys. "There you go. Have a wonderful evening."

"Thank you." Sylphiel and Pokota bowed before making their way up the stairs.

After the pair were gone a couple moments the front doors to the inn opened and in stepped Xellos all mischievous smiles.

"I'm sorry sir we're all booked up." The worker apologized to Xellos.

"Oh I'm not here to sleep. I'm just in to catch the show." Xellos said while phasing out.

The worker just blinked not sure what he just saw. "Okay I really need to drink some coffee. I'm starting to lose it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Nine, Anticipating

By Relm

Gourry knew that he was tired; he felt it to his bones. He had been reminded about how crappy he looked several times by his traveling companions. It was actually quite annoying; they talked freely about him like he wasn't even there. They discussed what was the best thing to do about him and whether or not to leave him in the inn and pick him up later... It was like he was some sick pet or child that they couldn't decide what to do with. Gourry had a mind and voice and chose to use that voice to speak his opinion. He was tired and that was all and he was going to that convention. Period. Seemed clear and easy enough but still his friends discussed on as if Gourry's say meant nothing to them.

He didn't care; he was going to go that convention. They couldn't stop him. Well no that wasn't true as Lina, Amelia and Filia were good at magic and Zelgadis was a swordsmen/sorcerer. If they didn't want Gourry to leave a room they could damn well stop him.

Still Gourry wasn't going to be quiet about this, he wanted to go. He wanted to see Sylphiel.

Most likely if Lina and the others showed up at the convention and Sylphiel was there she would end up seeing them. And if Sylphiel heard that Gourry was alone sick in an inn room with some strange illness the shrine maiden would be sure to rush to Gourry's side. It wasn't in Sylphiel's nature to ignore the plight of one of her friends. So it was for damned sure that Gourry was going to see Sylphiel no matter what if she going to that convention.

That should have been fine for Gourry but he still wasn't budging. Mostly because he wasn't thinking that far ahead. In his mind if he didn't go to the convention he wasn't going to see Sylphiel. His thinking was flawed but that was what it was.

Naturally Gourry was assuming the two 'night visits' from the mysterious Sylphiel were only dreams. As much as he wanted it to be real and not a dream it was just too off to be a reality. Sylphiel wasn't that forward and she couldn't like him like that anyway. It wasn't possible.

Still if dream Sylphiel and real Sylphiel weren't the same person then why all the desire to see her all of a sudden? That was because dream Sylphiel had reawakened feelings in Gourry that he couldn't ignore. He had to see if he had a chance, to see if Sylphiel could feel the same way. He gave up on her before he wasn't going to do it again.

So if all hinged on Gourry going to the convention then he really needed to get better. And if as Gourry insisted the problem was only a lack of sleep then really Gourry should be trying to sleep. He was going to need all the rest he could if he was going to feel better.

Still as he tried Gourry wasn't sleeping. He laid on the bed staring at the ceiling tired as all hell but he just couldn't sleep. Even if he closed his eyes wide shut it didn't help.

The bed wasn't a problem, it was very comfortable. The temperature wasn't an issue either as it was very ideal for sleeping. There were no distracting sounds or strange lights. The room was quiet and dark. Nothing should have been stopping Gourry from sleeping.

And yet he couldn't sleep. Gourry wasn't a thinker; he was a man of action. So it wasn't natural from him to sit and ponder anything for a great length of time. He usually left the thinking to the people he deemed smarter than him like Lina or Zelgadis. It was usually pretty easy for Gourry to shut off his brain especially when it came time to sleeping. This wasn't the case this time.

Sylphiel had been on his mind all day and it looked like night was going to be the same too. Dream Sylphiel had visited him on two nights would she do a third as well? The first had been a kiss goodnight, the second time she let him touch her hair... what would the third be?

It was ridiculous for Gourry to speculate what sort of dream he would have but he was blushing as he thought about it. Tonight he was thinking about her skin. Sylphiel's ivory skin that looked so soft and flawless. Was her face as soft and delicate as her hair?

Though Gourry's thoughts were less than pure they were far too tame to be associated with standard male lust. And yet the lust filled desire that was emanating from the blond haired swordsman was powerful enough that it almost made Xellos want to gag. Xellos didn't however as he didn't want to be found out. The monster priest was currently in a state of in-between while watching Gourry in his room. Xellos was in the room but he also wasn't at the same time. He had a clear view and sense of everything that was going on but he wasn't physically present in the room.

As he had told the front desk clerk Xellos was intending to watch the show. He wanted to know if the shrine maiden was really in her right mind when she committed these acts. Listening in on Sylphiel's and Pokota's discussion told Xellos that Sylphiel was sleepwalking thus making her not responsible for her actions. At the time when he had been watching Sylphiel and Gourry Xellos hadn't been paying enough attention to the state of mind of the shrine maiden to tell if she wasn't even awake. Xellos had spent that time trying to determine if what he was seeing was real and if that really was Sylphiel he was seeing.

This time it was going to be different; Xellos was going to figure out this mystery completely. All that was left to do now was to wait. But Xellos was aware that he could have to wait a lot longer than just one night. If Xellos was to believe the notion of Sylphiel sleepwalking because of having to camp out then Sylphiel might not even pay Gourry a visit. Sylphiel might find her room nice and comfortable so her sleeping mind wouldn't have an issue. And if Sylphiel wasn't sleepwalking tonight at that really was the only reason she paying Gourry visits in the first place then no Sylphiel tonight.

But this went back to whether or not Sylphiel was actually sleepwalking. Perhaps the shrine maiden wasn't visiting Gourry in her sleep but actually consciously seeing him. Sylphiel might be sneaking off to see her blond knight in secret and blaming it on sleepwalking out of convenience. She would then avoid having to see Lina and have to deal with that ugly confrontation.

If one were to believe that then that would mean that Sylphiel was actively lying to Pokota. This didn't jive well with what Sylphiel was known to be. The shrine maiden was nice as she was honest and pure. Her deceiving anyone for something as selfish as night time trysts didn't seem right at all.

So it was very possible that Xellos would be greeted to no show at all but that was okay. Xellos was fine with waiting. The fun of waiting to solve as mystery was the anticipation after all.

...

Pokota was small but he wasn't a child. If he was in his own body and not stuck in the body of a stuffed animal Pokota would somewhere around Amelia's age. Still there were things that were bred into ones bones even if those bones were no longer present. Like walking into a room with a bed that was many times bigger than you were. There was no option; one had to jump onto said bed. It was the one thing Pokota enjoyed about his small stature; even small beds were impossibly large to him.

Gleefully Pokota jumped into his nice large bed marveling at its luxurious comfort. A few playful jumps and Pokota quickly settled in for nice good long sleep. 'Miss Sylphiel shouldn't have any problems sleeping tonight.'

...

Sylphiel hummed to herself as she brushed her long raven locks before bed. She felt much better about sleeping in an inn room rather than camp out even if it meant waking for a late start the next day. The thought of her sleepwalking again was a source of great distress for Sylphiel. There was always a great mysterious unknown factor when it came to sleepwalking. What was her sleeping mind needing to do so badly that she needed to get up and do it regardless of her not being awake? Was it something mundane, productive or potentially harmful?

The thought of hurting herself wasn't something that Sylphiel worried about. She was a healer and could always heal herself if she woke up hurt. And even if she accidently killed herself at least she would be asleep and not aware.

Mundane tasks were too worrisome either. If she broke anything she would obviously replace it with a huge apology to whomever the broken items belonged too. Sylphiel was very good about being polite and just and she would always do what was right.

What worried Sylphiel was the thought of her accidently hurting someone. One could make the argument that again she was a healer and could just heal any accidental wounds but she would have to be woken up first. What if she accidently hurt someone so bad that she didn't wake up in time to heal? They could die right before her eyes with Sylphiel horrified with the knowledge that it was her that killed that person.

It was one of the reasons why Sylphiel had always been so scared to death to learn any offensive spells as a child. Sylphiel choose to excel at white magic because then it would less likely for her to hurt someone. She wanted to become a shrine maiden because of her father's workings in the shrine but there was no law that said a person devoted to the shrine couldn't learn offensive spells. It was a very long time before Sylphiel felt safe enough to learn offensive spells and even then it just a pathetic flare arrow.

Things were different now; Sylphiel was very proficient with a variety of spells. She could cast a dragon slave for crying out loud! There was a lot of damage Sylphiel do by accident. She could destroy the whole town and hurt a lot of people.

Sleeping in an inn room really did help Sylphiel's piece of mind.

In order to help herself have the most relaxing an restful sleep she could have Sylphiel took extra care in her bedtime rituals. That meant an extra nice long hot relaxing bath with bubbles and candles, fuzzy warm pyjamas, scented lotions, and making use of all the extra pillows and blankets the inn had to spare. Throw in a little touch of Sylphiel's favourite incense burning in the background Sylphiel was confident it would be sweet dreams tonight.

A dreamy smile danced on Sylphiel's lips as she fell into the comfortable bed and pillows. She felt all warm and cozy. There was only one thing Sylphiel could think of to make this sleeping experience better and that was a blond haired swordsman to snuggle up to.

...

Though Pokota was tired and happy to be sleeping in his big inn room bed there were cruel things ready to rob him of his sleep. As it turned out one of those cruel things was inside Pokota, his bladder.

Dinner had been so good but Pokota had ordered some items that were a touch bit on the salty side. Pokota had enjoyed his meal but had drank more water then he would have normally. And even though he was in a deep sleep his bladder decided that it was time for him to get up and go to the bathroom.

Pokota was thankful that all the rooms had their own bathrooms. He would have hated to have to go down the hall to do his business. Because then he'd have to walk all the way back and he'd be completely awake by then for sure.

With the bathroom so close Pokota should have been heading back to his bed in a still near zombie like state. However a strange noise in the hall grabbed Pokota's attention making him wonder. Knowing the perils of being a prince traveling in a strange area Pokota was on high alert ready for a potential attack.

Slowly Pokota opened the door to his room and peered down the hall. What he saw surprised him.

With her long raven hair, flowing cape and purple shrine maiden garb told Pokota exactly who he was looking at. Sylphiel was walking the halls of the inn.

'Oh no... she's still sleepwalking! I wonder where she's going...' Pokota thought to himself as he watched Sylphiel open another inn room suite's door and walk in. 'Is that her room she just went into?' Pokota wondered. He tried to remember exactly which room was Sylphiel when he realized that he was just too tired to.

'Maybe she wasn't sleepwalking. Maybe she was just going to for a walk to stretch her legs before going back to her room.' Pokota thought to himself. The more he thought about it the more likely it seemed. He heard no other noises since Sylphiel went into the room Pokota just assumed it was her room. Pokota just shrugged and went back to bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Ten, Soft

By Relm

Gourry had been trying to sleep; he had been trying very hard. But each time he looked at the door to his room he kept thinking about how much he wished Sylphiel would come through it. He became obsessed with it so much that he just couldn't tear his eyes away from it.

Since he had decided that the Sylphiel he was waiting for was only a dream this was a silly exercise. He would benefit more if he just went to sleep. How is a dream supposed to visit you if you were awake?

Still Gourry just couldn't stop staring at the door. Though he had decided that this visiting Sylphiel was only a dream there was a still a small part of him that wanted to believe it was real. Each of the dreams hadn't felt like normal dreams. They had all been so real and yet surreal at the same time. Sylphiel wouldn't have kissed him like that but he felt her lips. Sylphiel wouldn't have let him touch her hair like that but they were raven silk in between his fingertips. He could even smell the faint sweet scent of her perfume lingering on the air.

If she came and Gourry was awake then he would know for sure. He had to prove that this alluring seductive Sylphiel wasn't just a dream.

In reality it didn't matter how real or not real it felt he just wanted it to be. So his exhausted mind was focused on the dream of a dream being more than what it was. And for that reason he just couldn't tear his eyes away, he just couldn't fall asleep.

Too bad the rest of his body didn't get the message. All it took was one blink and Gourry was gone.

Xellos smirked from his vantage point. He could sense the frustration and anticipation building in the blond swordsman. And the way he kept his gaze lingering on the door told Xellos that Gourry was expecting a visit or at the very least hoping for one. But Gourry hadn't told the others of his night time visit from Sylphiel. And Xellos had assumed it was because Gourry had figured it was a dream. Could it be that the blond swordsman knew all along it had been real?

It was a rather delicious thought because then that would mean that Gourry really did fancy Sylphiel after all. And what of the great and powerful Lina Inverse then? The very woman that the blond swordsman had sworn to protect? Had he given up on her or was he just two timing her?

Either way Xellos was just as eagerly waiting as Gourry had been before he fell asleep.

...

Had it only been seconds or hours when she showed up? Gourry couldn't be sure as he was asleep after all. But it had been her that woke him. She had been very silent this time going through the door and she didn't need to try very hard either. Gourry had left the door unlocked this time.

There was a fondness to Sylphiel's smile as she approached the 'slumbering prince'. His head was turned as it he had been staring at the door. He had been waiting for her. Not wanting to keep 'her prince' waiting any longer Sylphiel turned Gourry's head back onto his pillow and just barely touched his lips with her own.

Gourry's eyes fluttered as he woke. Confusion was evident at first but once the cobwebs settled and Gourry's vision was clear his face broke out into a blush ridden smile. "You came..."

Sylphiel leaned down to whisper into Gourry's ear. "I could never stay away..."

Gourry shuddered in delight at the feel of her breath tickling his ear.

"What do you want...?"

"I..." Gourry wanted to talk he wanted to say so many things to her but it all left him. His strength his will to even move. He was paralyzed in that moment completely drunk off the essence of the woman hovering over him.

"Tell me what you want..." She breathlessly pleaded with him as she planted kisses down Gourry's neck.

"I... want... to..."

"What dearest?" She kissed her way back up to his face and looked him in the eyes.

With the weakest of arms Gourry struggled to lift his right hand up towards Sylphiel's face.

The smile on the shrine maiden's face grew bigger as she realized what the blond swordsman wanted. Quickly she scooped up Gourry's trembling right hand and brought up to her face. She held it in place with her left hand.

A delighted blissful sigh escaped Gourry's lips as his fingers made contact with Sylphiel's cheek. Her skin was impossibly soft and a sheer delight to his digits. Slowly he stroked Sylphiel's cheek with his thumb marveling at the sensation.

Sylphiel closed her eyes and purred.

From his vantage point Xellos was almost choking. Monsters could feed on some sorts of versions of lust but this one wasn't palatable at all! It was thick and laced with lust and happiness. The room was practically glowing with positive energy that Xellos felt like he was going to vomit. It was actually dizzying for the monster priest and he was even losing his bearings a little.

This wasn't the first time Xellos had been privy to a night time tryst between the shrine maiden and the golden haired swordsman before but this one felt different. The last time Xellos had been a fair distance away. This go around Xellos had been determined to be as close as he could be so he could definitively solve the mystery. As it turned out this wasn't a good course of action.

Being so close even in his state of in-between was really making Xellos sick. His senses were muddled and even his vision was blurry. He had to wonder if he was further away like he had been in the woods would this feel as bad? Or was this sickly array of emotions stronger than before?

Whatever the case Xellos was having trouble concentrating to figure out what was going on. His eyes told him that it was indeed Sylphiel looking into the eyes of the blond swordsman she was straddling. But Xellos couldn't confirm this on an astral level nor could he tell if the former shrine maiden was using any special spells.

"You look sleepy..." Sylphiel murmured as she leaned down to capture Gourry's lips once more.

"No..." Gourry mumbled pathetically.

"You should go to sleep..." Sylphiel whispered.

"No... I'm not sleepy..." Gourry weakly protested.

"Yes you are. You need to sleep." She shushed him.

"But you just got here. I miss you so much..." Gourry pouted. "I hate waking up... alone..."

"I'll come back." Sylphiel promised him.

"Stay." He pleaded with her.

"If I stay you won't get any sleep."

"I don't want to sleep..." Gourry mumbled as his eyelids closed on their own accord. His body was exhausted more so that it had been previous and he just couldn't fight it anymore.

Sylphiel chuckled. "My dear sweet hero you must sleep. I'll see you again." She promised as she got up to leave. Sylphiel didn't get that far as she was suddenly pulled back toward the bed and into Gourry.

Gourry dead tired with almost nothing left in reserves used everything he had in that moment to pull Sylphiel into the most passionate kiss he had kissed. His hungry lips captured hers with a burning heat that threatened to burst them both up into flames.

And as wonderful and magical kiss as it was it was fleeting. Gourry just didn't have the strength to hold on for too long. He collapsed back into the bed completely spent and dead to the world.

"Oh my..." Sylphiel clutched her collar as she fanned herself. In all her years she had never experienced such intensity. "So much passion... from so little contact... what a truly wondrous man..." Sylphiel leaned in and kissed Gourry on the forehead. "Sleep well my prince. You'll need all the strength you can get."

Xellos watched Sylphiel leave the room and he wanted to follow her but he couldn't. Even though Sylphiel had left and Gourry was now sleeping the room was still swimming with positive emotions. He felt like a bug caught in a sticky fly trap. Xellos could move his limbs but he was stuck in place.

To make matters worse the events leading up to Gourry's slumber were spilling into his dreams setting the tone for the rest of his sleep. Gourry was in the beginning of a very pleasant dream which added to the tone of the room.

Xellos desperately flailed around hoping to get free. It seemed like an eternity that he was stuck there like that. In truth it was only ten minutes but it may as well have been forever. Because by the time Xellos was able to get out of the trap Sylphiel wasn't in the hall.

It wasn't like the shrine maiden was going to wait till he got out of there before she fled. Sylphiel hadn't even known he had been there. So Xellos wasn't surprised to see the hall devoid of people.

Once Xellos' senses were a little less muddled he did a quick scan of the building to find Sylphiel. She appeared to be in her room.

Not sure of what he was going to find Xellos was stealthy in entering the room. He made sure that Sylphiel wouldn't see him there. As it turned out it didn't matter how quiet and unseen Xellos was, Sylphiel wasn't in the position to observe anything.

The room was in a mess. Almost all of the bedding from Sylphiel's bed was all over the floor as well as a bunch of Sylphiel's other things including her traveling clothing. It looked like a tornado had blown everything around in the room. Anyone might have been alarmed to see their room in such disarray but as Xellos discovered Sylphiel didn't seem to care one bit.

Dressed in sleeping clothes Sylphiel stood in the middle of the chaos. The direction she was facing was that of one of the walls in her room. Her head was slightly down as though she was looking at something on the floor far in front of her and her whole body seemed to be swaying slightly like she was standing on a boat in the ocean.

A quick look to Sylphiel's expression told Xellos exactly what he had been expecting. Sylphiel was indeed sleepwalking or had been. Though not walking at that moment she definitely wasn't awake.

If Xellos were to guess the events then he would assume that sleepwalking Sylphiel had went to Gourry's room to seduce him before going back to her room to change. As for the carnage Sylphiel either did it when she came back to her room or before she had left to see Gourry. It all fit nice and tidy tying up all of Xellos' loose ends.

'Well I guess it is true after all. Miss Sylphiel is seducing Mister Gourry in her sleep.' Xellos concluded.

With the mystery completely solved Xellos should have been content. He should have gone to the next phase of his plans – making the 'seduction' common knowledge to the others. It was only the natural and logical thing for a monster like Xellos to do. Lina's anger was always a fun little treat, what would her betrayal taste like? However Xellos wasn't feeling compelled to start the fun just yet. Something was still off and he knew his meal wouldn't be the best it could be until he was sure of everything. Curiosity did have a way of spoiling his appetite after all.


	11. Chapter 11

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Eleven, Violent

By Relm

The next morning most of Lina's group was up at a reasonable time. It wasn't early enough to be considered early but it was a respectable hour to be awake. As it was with the traveling schedule they were on they were likely to get to the convention at least a day before it started and it was a multiday affair. There was very little need to be there before it even started or even on the first day. The first two days of the convention were mostly about selling and trading healing items or healing related wares. It wasn't until the third day that the main festivities started up.

So even if Lina and company hadn't busted their collective asses to town the previous night they still would be fine on their timeline to get to the convention early enough. But the whole point of getting to the town was that Gourry could get a proper rest (and Lina could pig out at a restaurant.)

And did Gourry benefit from the comfy bed? Well Amelia was just dying to find out. The golden haired swordsman was on Amelia's mind right from the moment she woke up. Being the budding healer and champion of justice that she was Amelia's mind was always on being helpful and needed. So knowing that her friend was possible sick in bed really made Amelia want to jump into action and do whatever she could to help Gourry feel better.

However Amelia woke up too early... way too early. She hadn't been trying to it just happened that way. Her dreams bled with anxious energy spilling over with such intensity that when she woke Amelia was ready to jump out of bed.

Knowing that it was still too early Amelia had tried to go back to sleep but her busy brain would have none of it. Amelia was awake and going to stay that way.

Amelia didn't know what to do with herself while she waited. She tried to read but she couldn't concentrate on what she was reading. She tried to do word puzzle but the answers escaped her. Amelia even tried to write a few motivational speeches to say for when peoples' spirits need a little more uplifting than with a normal speech but the energy just wasn't there.

Figuring that Lina would have to be just as anxious as she was about Gourry Amelia assumed that Lina would also be awake. Lina had to be up already. It didn't make sense that Lina who was the woman that Gourry promised to guard and protect would be happily sleeping while Gourry potentially very ill.

Naturally Amelia was blowing up Lina and Gourry's 'relationship' to bigger proportions that it was as Lina was very much sleeping when Amelia came into Lina's room. And if Lina was truly worried she hid it well. Lina practically threw every handy item she could get her hands on at Amelia in the efforts to get the Sailune princess to leave her so she could get some sleep.

If Amelia was really thinking that Lina was head over heels in love with Gourry she might have been very distressed by Lina's actions concerning her sleep. And as it was Amelia was thinking Lina's feelings were that strong but she wasn't disturbed by it. Amelia found a way to rationalize the dragon slayer's actions that still worked in tandem with Lina's 'feelings'. Perhaps Lina was so racked with stress and worry that it took her forever to fall asleep the previous night. As such she would be far too tired to even think about anything thus seeming like she was being insensitive.

Amelia wasn't a delusional person but as you can see she did have her moments. She was ever the sucker for an epic love story and you couldn't get more epic than the tale of Lina Inverse and Gourry Gaberieve. At least in Amelia's mind that is.

The wooden floor boards of the inn hall creaked under Amelia's boots making the Sailune cringe with each betraying sound. She couldn't wait any more so Amelia decided that if she could be quieter than a mouse then she could check on Gourry without waking him. With her mind at ease Amelia could concentrate on other things and not be so worried about the former swordsman of light.

However as the inn was an old one the hardwood flooring was being a noisy little... brat. It didn't matter how slow or careful she stepped the floors creaked with such a loud annoying level that anyone would hear her coming.

'Grr... stupid floors... why can't you just be quiet?!' Amelia thought to herself. Though the floors were noisy Amelia could have avoided the sounds all together if only she used magic and floated her way to the door. Amelia didn't do this and she was cursing all the way to Gourry's door.

It seemed that the door was in league with the floor as it was very stubbornly noisy as Amelia tried to open it slowly.

_CREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAK..._

Amelia held her breath as she opened the door. Her ears were opened wide listening in for the sounds of sleeping. Never before in her life had Amelia hoped to hear someone snoring. Sadly Amelia didn't get what she wanted. The room was quiet despite the noises Amelia had made though it didn't appear that Gourry was awake. From Amelia's vantage point in the doorway she could see the former swordsman of light's form lying in his bed.

One of Amelia's first thoughts was that maybe Gourry wasn't sleeping at all. He hadn't been feeling well so it was possible things were worse than they had all thought. Perhaps Gourry had been so sick that he had passed away in his sleep.

It was a truly awful thought that had Amelia frozen in fear. Her eyes were glued to the stationary form of her blond haired friend hoping to see some sort of sign of life from him.

A very slow rise and fall of his chest confirmed to Amelia that Gourry was indeed alive and sleeping.

The breath Amelia had been holding was exhaled and not a moment too soon. Her lungs had been in just as much fear as her mind had been though for very different reasons.

Carefully Amelia approached the bed hoping to be quiet not that the floorboards were being cooperative. Still Gourry didn't seem to stir though his breathing did not sound good. Rather than the normal nasally sounds of a person sleeping well his breathing sounded laboured and wheezy. But maybe this wasn't a bad thing but just how Gourry's sleeping had been sounding as of late.

Amelia was hopeful as she got to the side of her friend's bed but those hopes were quickly dashed away as she got a better look at him.

Gourry was sleeping on his back his head turned slightly as though he had been looking at the door before he had fallen asleep. His normal pinky flesh toned face was very pale and clammy and bags hung low under his eyes. Amelia could already tell that Gourry's breathing was bad but she didn't know how his heart was doing. A quick check of his pulse told Amelia that it was weak.

Sleeping in a comfortable inn bed hadn't helped Gourry. He wasn't doing better, he was doing much worse!

"Miss Lina!" Amelia yelled while running out of Gourry's room at towards the red headed sorceress'.

Despite this sudden outburst of noise Gourry was still sleeping

...

It was a normal thing to wake up in ones bed. Or in the case of sleeping on the floor or on a couch of some sort waking up while lying down in general was a standard. This were the sorts of things one expected of a waking experience.

When sleeping in an unfamiliar location waking up could be a confusing experience. Your mind gets disoriented thinking you are at home in your own bed and doesn't quite grasp that the area around said bed doesn't look right.

Often this confusion was short lived as the brain would wake up and clarify the surroundings by remembering various facts leading up to sleep. 'I'm not in my bed because I went camping' or 'that's right I went to visit my aunt and uncle' and so on.

Slightly location based confusion for Sylphiel would have been a welcome thing. It would have been a blessing only to worry about not remembering where she was when she woke. But when you were gripped with the condition of sleepwalking there were far more unknowns to deal with.

Like in this instance when Sylphiel woke after supposedly having a restful sleep in her comfortable inn bed. Sylphiel didn't get the luxury of waking up lying in her bed; no she wasn't even lying down at all. When Sylphiel awoke she was standing in her room.

There was nothing more disorienting for a sleeping person then to wake up while standing. Well perhaps waking up being suspended upside might be more distressing but for Sylphiel this was the worse she had experienced.

Extreme confusion clouded Sylphiel normally clear emerald green eyes. Where was she? What had happened? Why wasn't she in bed?

A wall was in front of her and not the one with the window or the door in it. This was the 'feature' wall of the room but rather than be painted another colour than the other walls it was covered from floor to ceiling in wood paneling. She was standing about two feet away from this wall and the sight of the wood paneling was confusing to her. Was she in a wooden lodge? A quick glance to her left and Sylphiel noticed the bed she had supposed to have slept in.

This was when the fog started to lift from Sylphiel's mind. She was in an inn room in a town that wasn't too far away from the convention she and Pokota was heading to. She remembered all the things she had done the previous night to ensure a good restful sleep but a quick look around the room told her that it had been in vain.

The candles and incense Sylphiel had used the night before were broken and scattered on the floor. The extra bedding she had set up in the bed was in balls in bunches twisted on the bed and hanging off the side. The pillows that were still intact had been tossed haphazardly around the room while the feather remnants of the destroyed ones occasionally fluffed around the room.

There really wasn't much that wasn't on the floor. Sylphiel saw all of her traveling items and clothing thrown in every which way completely littering the floor of her room. The most distressing thing of all was the vanity mirror. Before bed Sylphiel had sat in front of it while brushing her long raven hair. She had admired the reflection of her hair in the mirror as it looked particularly shiny last night. The mirror had been elegant and grand with an expertly carved dark cherry frame.

Sylphiel's current reflection in the mirror was a cracked one. Shards of glass littered the floor around the vanity and what was left of the mirror in the vanity was cracked and blood stained.

It was possible that someone had came into Sylphiel's room and trashed it while she had been sleeping. Or at the very least casted some wind based magic spells to toss around all of Sylphiel's belongings on the floor. But that didn't explain why Sylphiel had woken up standing, the blood on the vanity or why her right hand was suddenly hurting so much.

In a daze Sylphiel looked down at the paining limb of hers and was marveled to see the dried red stains of her own blood on her knuckles and fingers. Piece of glass were even still embedded into her flesh from when she had punched the vanity in her sleep.

This chilled Sylphiel to the bone. Never before had she ever done something violent in her sleep. Never had she broken anything to this scale. It didn't look accidental. It looked like Sylphiel had wanted to completely trash her room. And punching a mirror? What had Sylphiel been dreaming about that would make her want to punch something or someone? And worse still...

...had she hurt someone?

Completely forgetting about the pain and glass in her hand Sylphiel crumpled to the ground into a tight ball. This wasn't good, not good at all.


	12. Chapter 12

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Twelve, Bloody

By Relm

Though his bed was large and comfy and his mind was content to sleep the day away the sun had other ideas for Pokota that morning. It was so proud and bright that it blasted its rays of sunshine right into Pokota's room and on Pokota's sleeping face. Pokota tried in vain to ward of the offending light but the sun would not relent. The sun violently ripped Pokota from his blissful slumber making him groan.

"Why does it have to be morning already...?" Pokota whined as he pushed off his sheets. A giant yawn escaped his lips while he stretched. He was tempted just to lay there till he fell asleep again but he knew he couldn't do that. People got up at morning for a reason especially when you were on a schedule.

"We've got a convention to go to. Better get up and see if Miss Sylphiel is awake. I sure hope she slept better." Pokota said to himself as he got up and got ready. He was finished very quickly because let's face it he was just a stuffed animal after all.

With everything all packed and ready Pokota hopped his way out of his room and down the hall towards Sylphiel's.

Last night Pokota had seen Sylphiel walking the halls of the inn. He hadn't thought too much of it though it had confused him when he saw her go into an inn room. At the time he was sure that it wasn't her room but another one but now he wasn't so sure. He had only just woken up to go to the bathroom so he himself wasn't fully awake. It was possible that he had just confused himself and Sylphiel had really been going to her room all along. So he didn't put too much thought into it as he skipped his way to Sylphiel's room.

"Miss Sylphiel are you awake?" Pokota asked while knocking on Sylphiel's door. He waited for a response but didn't get one. "Miss Sylphiel? Are you there?"

There was a strange muffled noise that came out of Sylphiel's room but Sylphiel herself didn't verbally answer Pokota.

"Miss Sylphiel? Is everything okay? If you're not decent let me know because I'm coming in." Pokota announced as he slowly opened Sylphiel's door. Right away it jammed on something blocking the door. As it turned out it was some clothing and one of Sylphiel's boots in the way but Pokota managed to push past and get into the room. What he saw horrified him.

The room was a complete mess. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Nothing was where it was supposed to be and everything was trashed. Feathers and shards of glass were all over the floor and worse still the glass appeared bloodied. But as distressing as the destruction of the room was it paled in comparison to what was crumbled in a ball on the floor.

Her hands were shaking, one of them covered in blood. She had huddled herself tightly into a corner with her head buried in her arms as she choked on sobs she was trying to keep silent.

"Miss Sylphiel!" Pokota cried out as he ran the shrine maiden.

If Sylphiel was aware of Pokota's presence in her room she didn't make it known.

"Miss Sylphiel?" Pokota whispered quietly as he gently placed a hand on her arm.

"It didn't work." Sylphiel finally spoke. Instead of her normal almost melodious voice Sylphiel sounded strained as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I did everything right and look what happened." She motioned for Pokota to at the room around them with her non-bloodied shaky hand. "I did this, and I don't remember it!" She choked on another sob as her body convulsed in tandem.

"Miss Sylphiel..." Pokota wanted to say something that would comfort Sylphiel and make her stop trying but the words escaped him. He couldn't promise her that everything would be okay because he had already done that. He had insisted that if they got to the town and to a proper bed that things would be fine. But there they were and Pokota couldn't have been more wrong. It didn't make sense to the Tarforashian prince, it should have worked. What other things were left? The only thing differently Sylphiel could have done would have been to sleep in a familiar setting but that was something she couldn't do. Her home, the Siaraag she had grown up in was gone. Even though she had spent time in Sailune and the New Siaraag it still wasn't the same.

"I've never done something like this before..." Sylphiel mumbled. "I've never destroyed things like this while sleepwalking. I have broken things sure but it was always seemed accidentally not intentional."

"Maybe this was an accident too." Pokota offered weakly.

"Does this look like an accident to you?" Sylphiel thrust her bloodied fist in Pokota's face so he could see what she had done. "Look! I punched the mirror Pokota! I broke all that glass."

"You have glass still in your knuckles." Pokota observed while grimacing. He went to grab Sylphiel's hand so he could treat her wound but Sylphiel had already snatched her hand back. The shrine maiden seemed to be oblivious to the pain she must be in from the glass in her hand.

"Were you having a bad dream? Maybe you were having a nightmare and that's why you punched the mirror. In your dream you were punching your attacker." Pokota theorized. "That would explain the damage in the room. It's like a bomb had gone off in here but there are no scorch marks. It's like someone had used a wind based attack."

"So I was having a bad dream...?" Sylphiel prompted looking up at Pokota with just a sliver of hope shining from her tear brimmed eyes.

"Yes! Yes! That has to be it! You were having a nightmare and you tried to defend yourself! You wouldn't intentionally destroy your room or punch a mirror!" Pokota exclaimed feeling a little more confident about his conclusion.

Sylphiel's head fell again back into her arms that she wrapped tightly around her body. "That's even worse!" She cried out with fresh tears streaming from her eyes.

"How is that worse?"

"Because before when I slept walked I was doing domestic things like trying to make dinner! Now I'm having sleep walking nightmares where I am fighting off dream monsters?! This is exactly why I was afraid to learn offensive magic!" Sylphiel moaned.

"Miss Sylphiel just because you can use magic doesn't mean you'd use it on a person!" Pokota tried to reassure her.

"Really? Look around you Pokota! I used magic here! What if I go on a walk while I'm sleeping and I dream I'm being attacked by a troll? I could end up using a flare arrow spell and hit some innocent bystander. Or worse cause a fire that brings the whole building down in flames!" Sylphiel shook her head. "This is horrible! Horrible! Horrible! HORRIBLE!"

"C'mon Miss Sylphiel it's not that bad."

"Not that bad?! It is that bad Pokota! I've devoted my whole life to healing! I've only ever attacked ever in self defense! I can't control what I do when I'm asleep. I'm a dangerous thing that should be locked up and never let out!"

"Miss Sylphiel don't be like that! I'm sure we can figure something out. There has to be some way to stop you from sleepwalking."

"Yeah there was. Sleep in a nice comfortable room with a nice bed, soft linens, lots of pillows and oodles of relaxation. I did that already and still I trashed my room! There's nothing we can do Pokota!" Sylphiel choked on another sob. Her ribs hurt so much from crying and she felt like she couldn't breathe but she didn't care. She was upset and she was going to stop crying only when she felt like it.

Pokota was desperate. He really really wanted to make Sylphiel feel better but he just couldn't think of how he could do that. She was right she had tried everything they could think off already. What were they going to do? That's when it hit Pokota; the answer was so obvious that he couldn't believe that he didn't see it before. "But Miss Sylphiel we're going to that convention! If there are any breakthroughs in healing and medicines it will be showcased there. You can't be the only one seeking out a remedy for your sleepwalking problem. I'm sure we'll find our answer there."

This stilled Sylphiel's tears and she looked up at her stuffed animal companion. "That's right. If there is an answer that is where we'll find it! Thank you Pokota! I had given up all hope!" Sylphiel pulled the Tarforashian prince into a big hug.

"Now how about we do something about the glass in your hand?" Pokota looked down at the offending appendage with a grimace. 'How can she not be in pain right now?'

"Yeah it is pretty bad..." Sylphiel released Pokota from the hug and looked at her hand. There were three pieces of glass sticking between each of the knuckles. Though most of the blood on Sylphiel's hand was dried her moving her hand around so much had caused the glass to move and cut deeper into Sylphiel's skin. New blood was slowly dripping down her arm. "It was hurting earlier but I've been so distracted that I forgot about the pain."

"Well let's get the glass out first." Pokota gingerly pulled out the first shard causing Sylphiel to flinch and hiss. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be I'm the stupid one that punched the mirror. Just be quick and pull them all out."

"Like a bandaid?" He prompted her.

"Yeah."

"Okay, here goes." Pokota grabbed the remaining two shards at the same time and yanked them both out.

"OOOOOOOOWWWWW!" Sylphiel cried out. "Thank you Pokota."

"I'm sorry you're in pain." Pokota frowned at the angry red wound. With the glass gone the blood was just flowing out now getting all over Sylphiel's clothes.

"Well it won't be for long." Sylphiel casted a small healing spell the wound closed up. "There all fixed."

"Now if only there was a healing spell for this mess of a room." Pokota looked around with a scrunched up nose.

"The innkeeper is going to kill me."

"Don't worry. I'll pay for the damages. I am a prince after all." Pokota reminded her.

"Thanks. It's a good thing I didn't sleepwalk anywhere else besides my room. Imagine what damage I might have done." Sylphiel said with a chuckle.

Pokota frowned at this comment. The night's events popped into his head and he was loathe to say anything.

"What is it Pokota? Why are you looking like that?" Sylphiel prompted him.

"Well... Last night I heard a strange noise... and I saw you walking around the inn hallways. I thought I saw you go into a room that wasn't yours..."

"Oh dear gods! Pokota what have I done?!"

"Miss Sylphiel I was sleepy I'm not sure even sure what I saw. You can't assume that you did something bad based on that!"

"But Pokota I destroyed my room! I hurt myself because of it! What if I accidently hurt someone else in the inn?! What if they are hurt and bleeding because of me?!" Sylphiel cried out in horror.

"Okay then let's find out. Get dressed and let's go see if there is someone injured in that room."

...

Once Sylphiel was dressed she and Pokota went into the hall to head to where Pokota thought Sylphiel might have gone in.

"I think it was that door." Pokota pointed three doors down from them.

"Are you sure?"

Pokota frowned. "Pretty sure... but I could be wrong..."

"Then let's just knock on all the doors just to make sure." Right as Sylphiel was about to knock on the first door when she heard a familiar voice.

"Sylphiel?" Lina called out coming into the hall with a very nervous looking Amelia following behind.


	13. Chapter 13

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Thirteen, Day Dreamed

By Relm

Sylphiel was too stunned to say anything. All she did was look at Lina in confusion. Of all the people she would expect to see in that inn at that moment she never would have guessed it would be her. Seeing Lina wasn't an unpleasant thing though given the current circumstances Sylphiel wasn't in her best frame of mind.

"I gotta say I'm both shocked and relieved to see you." Lina said she was right in front of her.

"You are?" Sylphiel wondered out loud in confusion.

"That's why you're here to see Mister Gourry right?" Amelia prompted her. "You heard of his condition and came to see him?"

This little piece of news made Sylphiel's eyes as wide as saucers. What condition? What had happened to him? Was he hurt? Had she hurt him? So many awful thoughts flew through Sylphiel's already stressed mind at that moment.

Pokota knew right away that Sylphiel was already in full panic mode so he chose to speak up and diffuse Sylphiel's troubles. "What's wrong with him? Did someone hurt him?"

Both Lina and Amelia looked surprised when they heard Pokota's voice. They had noticed Sylphiel right away and had been too focused on her to notice the little Tarforashian prince standing at the shrine maiden's side.

"Oh Pokota! Sorry didn't see you there!" Lina exclaimed with a laugh. "Should have looked down! But I wasn't expecting to see you there with Sylphiel. Kinda weird... Are the two of you traveling together or something? Nevermind you guys tell me what's been going on with you two after breakfast. I'm not going to be able to listen too well until I get some food in my stomach! I'm starving!" By the big hungry grin on Lina's face it was clear the situation wasn't as dire as it initial seemed.

"Miss Lina! How can you think about food when Mister Gourry is in there suffering?!" Amelia chided with all her righteous fanfare. There was probably a lecture or speech at some point but I think we've heard enough of those in the past to gloss over it this time. Or least Lina had as she tuned Amelia right away at the start.

"Amelia can it's not that bad! Gesh..." Lina shrugged.

"What's wrong with Mister Gourry?" Sylphiel asked hoping for the best and fearing the worst.

"He hasn't been feeling well. Looks like crap and is exhausted even though he gets more than enough sleep. Don't have any idea what's wrong with him. Nor does Amelia or Filia." Lina explained.

Right away a wave of relief washed over Sylphiel. If Gourry was sick then that meant it wasn't her fault. She hadn't done anything to him like she had feared. "Has anyone checked up on him this morning?"

Amelia nodded. "Yes I checked up on him just a few moments before I _dragged _Miss Lina out of bed. He's sleeping but he wasn't look good. Miss Sylphiel will you help him?"

"Of course! I am a healer after all. I would never turn my back on a sick or injured person." Sylphiel beamed. "But I have one question... who's Filia?"

"Oh! Yeah that's right you haven't met her before. She's a golden dragon." Lina said so caviller like as if it was the most normal thing in the world to know a golden dragon.

"A golden dragon?!" Both Pokota and Sylphiel exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah we met her a while back after the barrier came down. She commissioned me to help save the world from an evil force yadda yadda. You know the usual. Anyways she's heading to the same place we were and our paths crossed so we've been traveling together."

"Are you going to White Magic Convention?" Pokota ventured a guess.

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"That's where we're going." Pokota explained.

"That's wonderful!" Amelia exclaimed. "We can all go together. So did you and Miss Sylphiel-"

"I said catch up after breakfast!" Lina interrupted. "And since you aren't letting me get breakfast until the jelly fish is taken care then we deal with him first!"

Sylphiel nodded in agreement. She sucked in a deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the room. In normal circumstances she would be happy to see Gourry. But the thought of him being unwell troubled her. She never liked thinking about any of her friends or family being sick.

Gourry was exactly as Amelia had found him. He was asleep in his bed with his head turned looking at the direction of the door. His breathing was very laboured and his skin had a sickly ashen sheen to it. Deep heavy bags hung low under his eyes making him appear like he hadn't slept in days. He looked terrible.

The first thing Sylphiel did when faced with potentially sick person was to touch their face to gauge their temperature. If they were fighting off a fever then the first course of action would be get some cold wet cloths and blot their exposed skin. However when Sylphiel touched Gourry's face she was surprised to see that it was cold to the touch. Not cold like a dead body but colder than someone asleep in bed. The room was a comfortable temperature and the bedding wasn't too excessive. In reality Gourry should be nice and warm and not as cool as he was. Stranger still Gourry's sleeping form wasn't shivering in an effort to keep warm. It was like Gourry's body was slowly shutting down like he had been drained somehow.

Pokota, Amelia and Lina watched as Sylphiel did a variety of tests on Gourry to determine what was ailing the blond swordsman. Each one was curious and concerned especially each time they saw Sylphiel frown.

"What's wrong with him?!" Amelia finally broke down after she couldn't stand it any longer.

"If this is a sickness it's not one I've ever seen before. The only thing I can think off that's even remotely like this is a man I once treated for insomnia. He was having very troubling dreams and it was preventing him from sleeping properly. The man was so sleep deprived that he looked like he could collapse at any moment." Sylphiel explained.

"But he has been sleeping! Look he's sleeping right now!" Lina pointed to Gourry as if to emphasise the point.

"I know, I can see it. Perhaps this is the only time Mister Gourry has had proper sleep in the past while. But maybe his body isn't getting the rest it needs from his sleep."

"How can he not get rest from sleeping?! We're being loud and he's not waking up at all!" Lina growled. She was hungry and didn't want to deal with this nonsense. All she wanted was for Sylphiel to come up with a solution so that Lina could go and eat breakfast.

"Well... the only thing that comes to mind is... maybe Mister Gourry is... sleepwalking." Sylphiel said while cringing. It was a sore subject for her after all.

Lina and Amelia looked to each other as if to have a silent conversation on the subject. Had Gourry been sleepwalking? Lina had seen him do it before but that almost always Gourry sleep eating. Since they had been sleeping in separate rooms and taking different watches it was possible that Gourry could have been sleepwalking and they wouldn't have known about it. Right away Lina was quick to silently point out that this wouldn't have been an issue if they had been sharing rooms. Amelia rolled her eyes at this non-verbal comment.

Pokota looked to Sylphiel with a raised eyebrow. He had no idea what the two of them were 'talking' about. Or even why Lina and Amelia were having a silent conversation anyway. It's not like they couldn't talk out loud about what they were discussing.

"Okay so let's say he might have been sleepwalking... what do we do about it?" Lina wondered.

Sylphiel let out a deep sigh. If she knew the answer to that question then she wouldn't be so anxious herself. "There are several causes for sleepwalking... one reason might be mental. Mister Gourry could be dealing with some emotional stress that is not letting him sleep properly. Helping him to deal with whatever could be bothering him might stop the sleepwalking. Other reasons might be environmental, like undesirable sleeping conditions or minor illness like persistent body pain. In those situations it would mean making sure he is as comfortable as possible when he goes to sleep." In a way Sylphiel was just paraphrasing what Pokota had said to her earlier on in the week. The two of them had discussed in great length about the reasons behind her sleepwalking. It was decided it was environmental for her as she couldn't think of anything wrong in her life that could be causing this stress. Sure she had lost her home and her father all in one horrific incident but that had happened a while ago. If she was going to sleepwalk because of that she would have done it when those 'wounds' were still fresh.

Lina didn't look happy at that explanation. "So we make sure his feelings aren't hurt and keep him comfy?! Don't you have anything better than that?! Like some magic spell or medicinal remedy you can use on him?!"

Sylphiel frowned. "Well I'm sorry Miss Lina. Even if I could give something to help him sleep it's not going to help him if he's sleepwalking. Plus sometimes even when people take sleeping herbs they don't work on them."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Stupid jellyfish for brains! He is always so annoying and inconvenient..." She grumbled.

"Miss Lina I highly doubt Mister Gourry is intentionally being sick." Amelia corrected her not that Lina was listening anyway.

"Amelia Miss Lina doesn't mean what she's saying." Sylphiel interjected. "She's just hungry. Why don't all of you go and get something to eat while I watch over Mister Gourry."

"What about you Miss Sylphiel? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Don't worry Pokota. I'll eat later. I think it's important that someone watch over Mister Gourry for now to make sure he's resting properly." Sylphiel insisted.

"How about we bring you and Mister Gourry up some food?" Amelia suggested. "That way you won't even need to leave the room."

"That would be wonderful Amelia. Thank you."

"Okay we'll be back soon."

Sylphiel smiled at her friends before turning her attentions back to the slumbering blond swordsmen. She sat herself down on one side of his bed and looked down at him. His face was still turned looking in the direction of door with his long bangs covering one of his eyes. Sylphiel reached out and tucked those long locks blocking part of his face behind his ears. For a moment Gourry's full face was in view until his bangs protested this action and broke free from their bindings and fell back into place hiding nearly half of Gourry's face. It made Sylphiel chuckle slightly.

This was the sort of situation she used to daydream about when she was still actively mooning over Gourry. Her watching over him when he was sick and nursing him back to health. In her fantasy Gourry would be so grateful that he would profess his love for her and they would live happily ever after.

That was of course before Lina entered the picture. Those daydreams that once occupied much of her thinking was now just a fleeting thought here and there. She didn't allow herself to think about Gourry like that anymore. So looking after an ailing Gourry wasn't a romantic scene from a love story but something very concerning. She was a healer and he was sick with something she couldn't easily cure. It made her worried for her friend rather entertain romantic notions. The one thing she was thankful for was that his state of being wasn't her fault. She had been worried that in her sleepwalking state she had injured someone. And if it had been Gourry's room she had entered then clearly she hadn't done anything.

Gourry mumbled and turned in his sleep. Dopily he opened his eyes and saw the fuzzy outline of someone staring at him. It didn't take him long to realize who it was. He smiled dreamily as he stared up at her. "Sylphiel... you came back..."


	14. Chapter 14

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Fourteen, Morning

By Relm

Sylphiel had been rightfully stunned when she had bumped into Lina before but that amount of amazement was nothing compared to what Sylphiel was feeling now. She hadn't expected Gourry to say her name like that. Was he confusing her with a dream or something else? "Gourry how are you feeling?"

"Better now that you're back. Why do have to leave all the time?" Gourry wondered in a mumble. It was hard to determine if he was really awake or still partially asleep.

"I'm not going anywhere Gourry. I'm staying right here." Sylphiel said reassuringly. On instinct Sylphiel felt his forehead again expecting a fever. Gourry was sounding like he was feverish but still his skin was cool to the touch.

Gourry murmured happily from the feel of Sylphiel's hand and closed his eyes. It was almost like he was a cat being petted. Clearly Gourry wasn't in his right mind. He might not have a fever but he did appear to be delirious.

"Gourry can you tell me how you're feeling?"

"I feel better now that you're back..." He mumbled again with his eyes still closed.

"No seriously Gourry, what are your symptoms? Are you hot, cold, achy, feeling pain or seeing spots? Is there any tingling anywhere?"

"My face tingles." Gourry answered with a smile. Naturally he was referring to the area of his face that Sylphiel was still touching.

Right away Sylphiel snatched her hand back while blushing profusely. This was not the sort of responses she was expecting from Gourry. Sure she had daydreamed about something like it but never really expected it. He was acting all dreamy and love sick. Was this just extreme delirium from sleep deprivation or was he under the effects of a love spell? Either way Sylphiel had to shake it off and not read into anything Gourry was saying. He clearly wasn't in his right mind and didn't mean any of it. "Are you in pain?"

"No." Gourry answered clearly this time. "Just tired."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Sylphiel held up her right hand in front of Gourry's face. She three of her fingers held up as she waited for his response.

Gourry blinked a few times as he tried to get his bearings. It was clear that he couldn't see as well as he normally could as it was taking him a bit longer to focus. "Three. Three beautiful slender fingers. You have very pretty hands Sylphiel. So graceful... just like you..."

This comment caused more blushing from Sylphiel. Gourry was making it very hard to concentrate on the problem at hand. "Thank you but let's focus on you and what's wrong. That's what is important right now."

"Can I hold your hand?" Gourry wondered out loud still looking at Sylphiel's hand even though she had lowered it already.

"Maybe later Gourry. Can you tell me have you eaten anything weird lately or drank something that might have tasted funny?"

"Why aren't you calling me Gourry-dear? You always used to call me that." Gourry ignored her question and posed one of his own.

Sylphiel cringed from this question and shied away from it. It was a promise had made to herself a while back that she was going to stop treating Gourry so differently from everyone else. He was her friend and he was tied to Lina. If anyone had the right to call Gourry, Gourry-dear it was Lina not Sylphiel. Sylphiel never expected Gourry to notice as he wasn't one to notice such trivial things. "Because you are my friend. That's all we are, you aren't my dear one you're someone else's."

"Then why did you kiss me?" Gourry wondered out loud in confusion.

Sylphiel was taken aback by this. Kiss him? "Kiss you? When did I kiss you?"

"Days ago... you came into my room when I was sleeping and kissed me."

Sylphiel's heart was pounding a while a minute. "Are you sure I kissed you? Maybe it was a dream."

Gourry scrunched his face into a disgusted frown. "That's what the others told me. They said there was no it could have been you."

"You told them I kissed you?!"

"I told them I had seen you. They said there was no way you were out here. That you were probably in Sailune or New Siaraag and not in the middle of nowhere traveling to the White Magic Convention. But you're here now. So they were wrong."

Sylphiel's eyes shot up wide as saucers. She had no memory of kissing anyone let alone Gourry but she and Pokota had been traveling to the White Magic Convention. It was very possible that the two of them might have ended up taking the same path as Gourry and the others. "Was this the only time you saw me?"

"No... you came a couple other times. At night, always at night. I see you before I sleep and you're always gone when I wake up. Why do you leave me? Why don't you stay until I wake?"

Sylphiel wanted to say it was just a dream but a very real possibility was creeping up which was making Sylphiel very uneasy. "Did I visit you last night?"

"Yes. You let me touch your face. You always ask me what I want. This time I kissed you..." He recounted happily with closed eyes.

"Yo-you kissed me?!" Sylphiel squeaked. It wasn't the same as something she had experienced but Sylphiel quickly brought her hand to her lips. Hearing that she had been kissing him was unexpected but Sylphiel was harboring feelings for the golden haired swordsman. She would most definitely want to kiss him but him kiss her? To intentionally try and kiss her meant that Gourry was harboring feelings of his own. No. Sylphiel shook her head. This wasn't right. Something was wrong very wrong. "Did you ever see me cast a spell or make you drink something when I visited you?"

"I think you casted a sleeping spell on me. I'm always so sleepy when you visit. I think you just want me to rest. You're always taking care of others. You're so kind." He looked up at her with adoring eyes.

Yes this seemed wrong. Gourry was acting like he was in love and he wasn't. Not with her, not Sylphiel. And the more Sylphiel thought about it the sicker she felt. "You need to rest now Gourry. Go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake." She promised him.

"I don't want to sleep." Gourry whined.

"Well you need it." Sylphiel placed her right hand on his forehead and chanted under her breath. "_SLEEP!_"

Whatever protesting that was coming out of the golden haired swordsman was stilled as he swiftly fell back into blissful slumber.

Once she was sure Gourry was asleep Sylphiel got up and started pacing. There was still some pieces that hadn't added up yet but the puzzle's picture was very clear now. And she did not like it one bit.

...

"So you two got here last night too? It's wonder we haven't bumped into each other sooner!" Amelia exclaimed as she and Pokota walked back up the stairs to Gourry's room carrying food for Gourry and Sylphiel.

"I know! It sounds like we were taking the same path the whole way! I'll bet were just a few hours behind you the whole time!" Pokota agreed as he shifted his hold on the mammoth amount of food he was carrying. It was such an odd sight seeing something so small carrying so much and with such ease too. The weight wasn't an issue but still Pokota and Amelia should have had more help getting the food upstairs. But as it was Zelgadis and Filia still hadn't gotten up and Lina was still downstairs eating. But Pokota and Amelia managed so it was fine.

"It's a shame we didn't meet up sooner. To think we could have been traveling together this whole time." Amelia beamed with a happy smile.

"I know." Pokota smiled back and shied away slightly. There was something about Amelia's bright smile that always did funny things to his stomach. Since getting his kingdom and people back Pokota's life was no longer mission bound he free to be a carefree teenager again. And what teenage boy didn't like thinking about a pretty teenage girl? Harmless little fancy but Pokota wasn't about to act upon it. He was just happy to get a chance to talk with Amelia again. The two of them had been catching up the whole time they had been eating while Lina pretty much ignored them. That was typical of Lina anyhow, when she was eating that was all that mattered.

"Did you and Miss Sylphiel have any troubles on your journey?" Amelia wondered as the two of them entered the hall leading to Gourry's room.

"We almost got lost one night but we weren't attacked by bandits or anything." Pokota stated carefully. Though he could have trusted telling Amelia about Sylphiel's sleepwalking problem Pokota knew it wasn't his place to say anything. If Sylphiel wanted the others to know about her issues then she was going to have to tell them. Plus Pokota didn't think it would help the situation any if he told Amelia anyway. They were already dealing with a sleep related issue with Gourry they didn't need another one piled on as well.

"It's always hit and miss with remote areas like this. Sometimes they are very peaceful or full of bandits." Amelia agreed with him.

Right as Amelia and Pokota got close to Gourry's room Sylphiel opened the door and walked out into the hall. "Oh you're here already!" Sylphiel exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes we've got breakfast. How's Mister Gourry?" Amelia wondered.

"Resting. He woke up for a little bit but he didn't seem like his mind was truly awake. I put him back to sleep with a spell. He definitely needs more sleep." Sylphiel concluded.

"Well then we'll just put his breakfast in his room for now so he can eat it later." Amelia offered.

"Good. Amelia could you stay with Gourry for a moment? I need to talk to Pokota about something." Sylphiel asked while helping Pokota and Amelia get all the food in the room.

"Sure of course. You can count on me!" Amelia beamed as she sat down in the chair next to Gourry's bed.

Sylphiel returned the Sailune princess' smile before going back into the hall with Pokota. Once there the smile left the shrine maiden's face and was replaced with one of worry.

"Miss Sylphiel what's wrong? Is Mister Gourry really sick?"

"I don't know." Sylphiel responded honestly. "But I think whatever the case is I know what caused this problem with him."

"Who?"

With tears welling up in her eyes Sylphiel looked to Pokota and said, "Me."


	15. Chapter 15

**Goodnight Kisses**

Part Fifteen, Waiting

By Relm

Right away Pokota's face was filled with both alarm and concern. "What do you mean Miss Sylphiel? What's going on?"

"I think I did this to Gourry!" Sylphiel exclaimed while slumping her back to the wall and sliding down to the ground. She was back to sitting in a defeated ball position.

"No that's not possible Miss Sylphiel! You would never do anything to intentionally hurt someone else." Pokota reassured her while sitting down next to her.

"That's the point though it wasn't intentional!" Sylphiel put her face into her hands while tears started to fall.

"I don't understand Miss Sylphiel. How did you unintentionally make Gourry sick?"

"Gourry said some strange things when he woke up. It wasn't making a lot of sense until he mentioned about traveling to the White Magic Convention."

"Yes that's right! They are going there too! Did you know that Amelia and the others have been going pretty much the same route as us this whole time? We've pretty much been following them from place to place." Pokota exclaimed.

Sylphiel looked up from her hands at Pokota clearly not as enthusiastic as he was about the revelation. "I know and that's the problem... Gourry told me that he's been getting night time visits from the same person almost every night."

"Who?"

"Me!"

"Well that doesn't make sense..." Pokota scratched his head with one of the hands that was attached to one of his ears. "If you have been visiting him then you would have said something wouldn't you?"

"Yes Pokota of course I would have! I didn't know they were staying at the same places we were."

Pokota's face scrunched up into a big confused frown. "Miss Sylphiel I'm confused. I don't know what you're getting at."

Sylphiel just shook her head in exasperation. She didn't know why she just wasn't coming out and saying it but at the same time Pokota wasn't usually this dense. "I wasn't knowingly visiting him I was sleepwalking!"

"Oh... OH!" Pokota's eyes shot up really wide. "That's right! I did see you walk into his room last night too! But how did you know he was there?"

"I don't know. I don't know how any of this happened. But somehow in my sleepwalking state I found Gourry and have been visiting him at night."

"But just visiting alone wouldn't cause Gourry to be sick. And why would you be trying to make Gourry sick?" It was too early in the morning for all this thinking. He had had too much drama already this morning finding a bloodied Sylphiel in her trashed room. Throw in a very distracting Amelia and Pokota was just too taxed already.

"I'm not. Honestly I don't know how he got to be the way he is. He definitely seems drained like he isn't getting any sleep or the benefits from sleeping and eating."

"Then how can you be sure it's you causing this problem?"

"He was acting... weird... Not like Gourry ever acts around me." It was sad to say out loud but it was true. Gourry wasn't the kind of person to act all lovey-dovey and even if he was there was no way that Sylphiel would be the focus of such attentions. She was sure that if Gourry was ever going to show any abundance of affection it would be for Lina and not her. It just wasn't in his character for him to be enamored with Sylphiel.

"How was he acting?"

"Like... he was... love sick."

Now Pokota was all kinds of confused. "Love sick? Like under the effects of a love spell?"

Sylphiel nodded.

"So you think that in your sleep walking state you've been using magic to make Gourry... fall in love with you?" Pokota wondered out loud.

Again Sylphiel nodded.

"Huh..." Pokota went back to scratching his head. "Okay... I follow you that much... That still doesn't explain how he's _sick_ sick."

"I think I've been doing more than just casting love spells. I must have. It's the only thing that makes any sense!"

"I don't know of any spells that can drain someone's energy and make them fall in love at the same time." Pokota mused while thinking hard. Pokota magical specialties weren't white and love spells and spells like them tended to fall in the white magic end of the spectrum. Still Pokota was pretty knowledgeable in his magical studies even the stuff that wasn't in his area of expertise.

"It must not be a proper spells." Sylphiel insisted.

"So let me see if I understand this... you've been using unstructured magic spells on Gourry while you've been sleepwalking and it's making him sick and suddenly in love with you?" Pokota prompted her.

"Yes!"

"Okay. Fine that's one way to look at it."

"It's the only way!" Sylphiel protested.

"No. There is another possibility Miss Sylphiel."

"And what is that?!"

"That Gourry didn't see you, he was dreaming about you and confused it with reality. He's not under the effects of a love spell but is really sick with some strange illness that is making him delirious and you never did any of this at all." Pokota insisted.

"So you're saying that this is all just one big coincidence?"

"Yes!"

"Okay then how do you explain you seeing me going into Gourry's room last night?!" Sylphiel shot back. She didn't know why she wanted to prove Pokota wrong so badly but in a way that was a bit typical of Sylphiel. She was modest to the bone and always felt the pain of others. It would make sense that she would want to mentally punish herself for the suffering of a friend.

"Alright maybe you did visit him once but that was it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know you Miss Sylphiel. You would never do anything to hurt anyone at all. You are a healer first and foremost. It's not in your nature to harm." Pokota insisted.

Sylphiel frowned at Pokota but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"Why are you two sitting on the floor for?" Lina wondered as she walked into the hall.

"We were talking." Pokota answered quickly while rising to his feet.

"How is he?" Lina asked while looking at Gourry's closed door.

"Resting. Amelia is in there with him now." Sylphiel answered. "He woke up for a bit but I used a sleep spell to make him go back to sleep."

"It's probably a good idea to have someone watching him at all times while he sleeps." Pokota suggested.

Lina frowned a grumpy frown. "For how long?"

"I'd say give it a full day and see if he gets better by tomorrow." Pokota advised. He shot Sylphiel a quick look as he said this to prove a point. If Gourry got better then it was proof positive that she wasn't to blame.

"But we have to get to the White Magic Convention." Lina whined. She didn't really care about missing the beginning of the convention so much as she didn't want to be stuck in some small city taking care of a sick person even if that sick person was Gourry.

"If we leave tomorrow we'll get to the convention on time for sure. And most of the big stuff doesn't happen the first day anyway." Pokota rationalized.

"Alright fine." Lina grumbled. "I'm going to be stuck babysitting that big blond lug then I'm going to get Zel and Filia up so they can do their share. I'll be damned if I have to do it all." Lina stomped her way down the hall and started pounding on Zelgadis' door.

"Why were you telling Miss Lina that we need to have Gourry under constant watch?" Sylphiel wondered while looking at Pokota suspiciously.

"What you think it's a bad idea?"

"No. I would have suggested myself anyway though I wonder what made you think to."

"Well it is logical but it serves another purpose. If there is someone awake and watching Gourry the whole time he sleeps then it would be pretty hard for you to make an unannounced visit now wouldn't it?" Pokota stated rather proudly. "But you won't of course because you're not the one causing this mess."

"What if I still end up sleep walking into the room anyway?"

"Then at least there will be someone there to stop you from doing whatever you might be doing to cause Gourry's problem." Pokota rationalized.

"Alright that does make sense. Better that someone it there to protect him from me."

"He won't need protecting as you aren't doing anything wrong." Pokota chided.

Sylphiel frowned but didn't argue further. Instead she just got up and went into Gourry's room. Her breakfast was waiting for her and all this worrying was making her extra hungry.

Xellos watched this whole scene from his in-between space while drinking his morning tea. He knew proof positive that Sylphiel had been visiting Gourry at night and could have easily have informed as such. Doing so would have caused a delightful amount of anguish and negativity for Xellos to snack on. Though he was a bit peckish Xellos was content to wait a little longer. Why spoil his appetite with an appetizer when tonight's main course would be extra delicious. No he was going to wait.


End file.
